The Loud Horror
by FLASHFAN123
Summary: What happens when the Loud House find themselves caught in three chilling horror films? Rated R.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey, guys!(All ten of you) I'd like to thank you for sticking with my current story, Justice Legion of Avengers, for so long. It is honestly the longest story I have on this site and I'm very proud of how far it's gone. I'm super excited to be as far as I am into it, and I have so many more chapters full of action, thrills, feels, and excitement! But, I need a change of pace, so I am going to attempt something I've never tried before: I am writing a second story at the same time! I have recently become infatuated with a new Nickelodeon show, The Loud House. And just a few days ago, I had a crazy idea: what if I combined The Loud House with some of my favorite horror movies?! Three different movies, for three separate groups of Louds! Now, I am still doing my Justice Legion of Avengers story, so this one might not get as many updates as that one, BUT, I am still going for it!**

 **1.) Friday the 13th (Lori, Leni, Luna, Luan, Bobby, Chaz, Carol, Sam, Maggie, and Lily){All same age}**

 **2.) John Carpenter's The Thing (Leni, Lincoln, Clyde, Ronnie Anne, Lynn, Rusty, Zach, Liam, Haiku, and Penelope){All aged up}**

 **3.) Final Destination (Lori, Leni, Luna, Luan, Lynn, Jr., Lincoln, Lucy, Lana, Lola, Lisa, Lily, Rita, Lynn, Sr.){All same age}**

 **NONE OF THESE WILL BE CONNECTED! Hence why some characters are in more than one story. Please tell me what you guys think in the reviews! Your opinions matter to me! Now, keep in mind this will be the first time I've ever written horror stories, but gosh darnit, I'm gonna do my best!**

 **Thank you for your time, and please enjoy the first chapter of the first story; THE LOUDS' THIRTEENTH!**


	2. The Loud Thirteenth Part 1

It was a beautiful day in the small town of Royal Woods, Michigan, summer had just started. Rita and Lynn Loud Sr. had made arrangements to take their younger children to Dairyland in New Orleans, while the four oldest daughters were packing up Vanzilla for their summer get away. Lori had convinced their parents to let them bring a few of their friends with them to Camp Scratchy Bottoms, due to the fact that they would have been supervised every second they were there with no funny business. Lori had invited Bobby, Luna invited Sam, Luan invited Maggie, and Leni invited Chaz.

Just as they had finished filling their suitcases, Luna and Luan made their way into Lori's room for their scheduled sister meeting. "Knock knock!" Luna chimed.

"Who's there?" Luan chuckled.

"Luan…" the teen rocker groaned.

"Luan _who?_ " another groan. "Hey, c'mon, sis! You know you _a-door_ my puns! Ha ha ha! Get it?"

"Shut up, you two." Lori hissed. "We, _literally_ , have no time to waste. Are we prepared for Operation: Bait-and-Switch?"

"Hell yeah, dude!" Luna whispered, just in case their parents were listening in. "Sam managed to get the Mary Jane, just like she promised! She texted me a _picture_ of it!" She took out her phone and showed it to the two of them. "All we need is to get some zigzags at a gas station on the way, and then we just _Let the Good Times Roll!_ "

"And Bobby's got the fake I.D.'s we'll need to get the _beer_." Lori smiled. Secretly, the trio had consulted with their significant others to make other arrangements. Instead of Camp Scratchy Bottoms, Luan had discovered an old, abandoned lakeside camp that was currently under renovations. By pooling their allowances together, they'd saved up enough money to rent a cabin for a full week.

Just then, Lori remembered something. "Oh, God, please tell me you guys made sure-"

" _Yes_ , Lori, relax." Luna soothed. "We kept Chaz in the loop without telling-"

"OH! EM! _GOSH_ , YOU GUYS!" A voice boomed from downstairs, quickly followed by footsteps coming from the hallway.

"...Leni." They all sighed in unison.

The second-born Loud child had been kept in the dark about their ploy for a good reason; she was stupid. It wasn't that everyone in the Loud House didn't love Leni; she was the kindest girl that had ever been put on the Earth. Unfortunately, she was also ditzy, flakey, and naive. Even her own parents often got aggravated with her absent-mindedness. To ensure that she wouldn't accidentally give away their real destination, the group decided to wait until they were on the road to fill her in on the change of plans.

Leni barged into the room with a panicked expression. "Where _are_ they?! We can't leave _without_ them!"

" _Hey, Soul Sister!_ " Luna tried to calm her down. "What're ya lookin' for?"

"My _sunglasses!_ Have you guys seen them?!" The three sisters rubbed their temples and rolled their eyes in frustration before pointing to the top of their heads. Leni's eyes rolled up and her fingers gingerly felt her sunglasses resting on top of her head, where they always were. "Ooh! Thanks, guys!" She flashed her trademark smile.

"Hey, kids." Rita Loud walked into the doorway, holding the youngest Loud in her arms. " _Bad_ _news_ , girls… Pop-pop lost Lily's ticket and now she has to stay behind. I'm going to need one of you to take her to Aunt Ruth's house and look after her."

"What?!" Lori shrieked. "No, mom, can't Aunt Ruth just watch her by herself?"

"You _know_ she doesn't trust Lily to be alone with her _cats_." Luan reminded.

"Hey, wait!" Leni lifted her finger into the air. "We can just take her _with us!_ " She took her baby sister into her hands and began to playfully wag her finger in front of her, much to Lily's amusement.

"Oh, I don't _know_ , Leni, sweetie…" Rita rubbed her arm in discomfort. "I don't know if I'm comfortable letting Lily go into the woods without your _father_ or _myself_."

"Don't worry, mom! _I'll_ take _good care_ of her, I promise!"

"Yeah, mom!" Lori pitched in, trying not to sound too eager. "The four of us can keep a baby safe in the woods for, _literally_ , just _one week_. Especially with _four guests_ to help."

"Well… _alright_." She conceited. " _But…!_ But, I want you to call us _as soon_ as you get there! And make sure you pay attention to when she needs to be fed and changed!"

"I will!" Leni promised as Lily gave her cute little kisses.

"Alright, your father and I are leaving with the kids in one hour. So… _be ready_ to say goodbye to us." With that, she left the eldest sisters and their baby sister alone again.

* * *

Later, when Pop-pop showed up to take everyone to the airport, the remaining Louds continued to prepare for their trip. Soon enough, Bobby Santiago, Lori's longtime boyfriend, arrived.

"Hey, babe!" He called before they came together in a passionate kiss.

"Did you get the _stuff?_ " She asked, coyly. Bobby pulled out a bag from his truck, it was filled with condoms and birth-control pills. "You are the _best_ , Bobby Boo-Boo Bear!" Lori was eager to get into bed with him, but she didn't want her family to get any bigger.

Not long after, Sam, Chaz, and Maggie showed up. At last, they piled into Vanzilla and set off onto the road. Luna leaned her seat back as far as it would go as she caressed her beloved electric guitar. The broken radio was only one of the old vehicle's flaws, so Luna and her girlfriend were more than happy to provide the roadtrip's entertainment.

" _I'm on the Highway to Hell!"_ Sam sang, beautifully, as Luna strummed the appropriate chords. Leni had placed her hands over Lily's ears to protect them from the loud music, but she soon noticed something that made her feel uneasy.

"Um... you guys?" She sounded concerned. " _This_ isn't the way to Camp Scratchy Bottoms…"

"We're not _going_ to Camp Scratchy Bottoms, Leni." Chaz, who was sitting next to her, explained. "We wanted to _surprise you_. We found a _better place_ to spend our first week of summer."

"But, we _promised_ mom and dad!"

"That we'd go to _camp_ , Leni." Luan soothed. "We never said _which_ camp. It'll be _fine_."

"But, won't they be _mad_ when they find out we lied to them?"

"You mean; _'if_ they find out we lied to them.'" Maggie corrected. "Now, _our_ lips are _sealed_. How about _yours?_ "

Leni stressed her mind as she tried to think of what to do. She never felt comfortable lying to anyone, let alone her parents. But looking at her friends and family, she didn't want to ruin the vacation for them. She sighed heavily, supposing that if they just obeyed the rules, they'd be okay. "So, what camp are we going to, then?"

"It's called _Camp Crystal Lake!_ " Luna exclaimed.

"Oooo! That sound's _pretty!_ "

"Great!" Luan cheered. "It's good to know that our plan is _crystal clear!_ Ha ha ha! Get it?"

Everyone groaned again.

A few miles later, the group stopped for gas. While Lori filled up the gas tank, everyone else went inside for supplies. As she watched the meter, she saw a familiar red sports car parked right next to her. "Oh, no…" She grumbled.

"Lori!" Carol Pingrey chuckled. "It's _so_ good to see you. How've you _been?_ "

"Oh, just _fine_ and _dandy_ , Carol." Lori sneered. The two prima-donnas had held a serious resentment for each other ever since Kindergarten, with Carol always bragging about how much better she was than Lori. "Where are _you_ heading?"

"Oh, my daddy just bought a _fabulous_ luxury cabin just down the road." She said, smugly. "What about _you?_ "

"My _friends_ and I are going to our _own_ cabin at Camp Crystal Lake. You _do_ know what _friends_ are, right."

"Hmm. _Cute_." Carol laughed.

"Hey, babe!" Bobby snuck up behind Lori and pecked her cheek. "Am I _great_ at getting fake I.D.'s or _what?!_ We got _Coors, Budweiser, and Blue Moon!_ "

" _Faking I.D.'s_ , Lori..?" Carol's smug smile grew wider. "You better _watch_ your _back_."

"Really?" Lori had had enough. "Because, maybe _you_ should, _literally_ , stop spending so much time on _yours!_ "

"Oh, _burn!_ " Bobby whooped, giving his girlfriend a proud high-five as Carol stormed off in disgust.

The others were just finishing up inside. Chaz, Luan, and Maggie had grabbed plenty of snacks and guidebooks of nearby restaurants, Leni was coming out of the restroom after changing Lily, and Luna and Sam were trying to figure out how to get zigzags without raising suspicion.

"Ugh, Lily!" Leni finally caught her breath and made her way outside. "How can such a _tiny baby_ make such a _big mess?_ "

"Poo-poo!" Lily giggled.

"We can't just stand here _staring at them_ , luv." Luna consulted with Sam. "We have to think of something _now!_ "

"Okay! I've got an idea!" The girl with a blue streak in her hair snapped her fingers and casually walked up to the cash register. "Hello, sir. We'd like these _snacks_ , these _brochures_ , the receipt for _pump two_ , some _zigzags_ , a copy of this _magazine_ and directions to _Camp Crystal Lake_ …"

"Yes, ma'am…" the middle-aged clerk responded, placing the items in the bag. "But, uh… I wouldn't go to that Camp if _I_ were you…"

"Why _not?_ " Luan asked.

"Because of the _curse_."

" _What_ curse?" Maggie sounded interested.

"Well, supposedly, the reason it _closed down_ in the _first place_ is because some lady went _crazy_ after her son drowned in the lake. She went on a _rampage_ and killed a _lot_ of kids she blamed for the accident. Some say that her son's _ghost_ still haunts the campgrounds."

"Is that _so…?_ " Luan smiled smugly and whispered her plan into Maggie's ear. They were going to have some fun around the bon fire tonight.

* * *

Carol Pingrey drove, angrily, to her father's cabin. The first thing she was going to do was call the police and report the falsified identification. Then, she would go down to whatever jail they'd be thrown in and rub it in Lori's face. "I'll teach _her_ to use that _tone_ with me!" She said through gritted teeth.

Unfortunately, she wasn't paying attention to the road and she nearly hit a passing car. She swerved out of the way just in time, but she ran off the road and into a ditch. She screamed at the top of her lungs in anger and got out of the car. She spent twenty minutes trying to push the car free, but it was no use. She decided to walk through the woods and find some help.

She walked for an hour, yelling out for help. As the sun started to go down, she grew worried. Soon it would be dark, and she may never get to the cabin. But then, she saw someone running through the trees.

"Hey! Hey, you!" She chased after him with haste. "I need your help!" She ran in his general direction until she came upon a delapidated shack. Her curiosity spiked. Cautiously, she made her way into the rotted shack, ignoring the rancid smell. She was going to find the man and get help. Suddenly, she heard a noise coming from one room, concealed by a curtain. She steeled her nerves, made her way over to the room, and pulled the curtain back.

What she sawalmost made her gag in disgust. So caught up in the horrible sight, was she,that she didn't notie the man sneaking up behind her. The pain came swiftly, without warning. The claw from the hammer dug deep into her skull, piercing her brain and killing her in an instant.

The man didn't care who she was. All he cared about was keeping her from trespassing on his property again. And she couldn't do that if she were dead.

* * *

 **(...)**

 **FLASHFAN123 proudly presents**

 **(...)**

 **The Loud Thirteenth**


	3. The Loud Thirteenth Part 2

**Author's note: Sexual content in this chapter! You have been warned!**

The Louds and their guests felt very relieved. After three and a half hours of driving they finally arrived at the campgrounds. Lori parked Vanzilla right in front of the large cabin and everyone rushed to get out and stretch their legs. Bobby and Chaz handled the suitcases while the girls inspected the land. Lori was very impressed by the size of the cabin they were staying at; it came equipped with a large kitchen, four bedrooms upstairs with two beds in each, and a living room with a foosball table, ping-pong table, and TV. Sam and Luna liked the sparkling lake, perfect for a nighttime dip. Luan and Maggie were already tidying up the bonfire area, preparing it for their ploy.

It was, to them, the perfect place to spend their vacation.

Leni, however, felt differently. As she unbuckled Lily's child seat, she held the littlest Loud close to her chest. She gazed at her surroundings, drinking in the image of the tightly packed trees. It was eerily quiet, with only the occasional sound of quails calling in the distance. It made the sixteen-year-old girl feel as if someone was watching her.

"Hey, Leni?" Leni jumped as Chaz lightly tapped her shoulder. "Whoa, what's wrong?"

"Chaz, I… I think someone's _out there_." Leni stuttered.

"What're you _talking about?_ " Chaz shrugged. "This place has been _abandoned_ for years."

" _That's_ my point!" Leni spluttered. "What if it got infested with, like, _ghosts?!_ Or _monsters?!_ Or _demons_ from the _not-nice-place?!_ "

"Oh, _Leni_ …" Chaz chuckled and lightly patted her head. "So _innocent and naive_. Everyone _knows_ ghosts aren't _real_. Now, _c'mon_ , we're gonna start cooking dinner soon."

"If you _say so_ …" Leni replied. But before she followed him back inside, she thought she heard a faint whisper coming from the woods. She hugged Lily tighter as she craned her head around to check the area one last time, her eyes wide with fear. No one seemed to be there, so she decided to go inside.

Little did she realize that a mysterious figure had been spying on them all in secret. He looked at the cabin through his makeshift mask, his gaze glowing with pure hatred. They were trespassing on his sacred ground, desecrating his home with their presence. The same kind of people who had tried to drown him as a child. The same kind of people who killed his beloved mother. It was up to him to get rid of them.

But not yet. He would wait until nighttime. Then, they would pay.

* * *

Later, after the sun was starting to go down, Luan and Maggie had set up a lovely campfire. The group had donned warmer clothes to accommodate for the decreasing temperature outside. Bobby and Chaz felt that they only needed sweatshirts, while the girls who were wearing skirts, or in Leni's case, dresses, changed into blue jeans and sweaters. They met outside and gathered around the campfire.

Luna and Sam gently brushed their fingers over their guitars, singing _Night Moves_ along to the crackling fire. Lori sat, comfortably, on Bobby's lap, kissing him passionately in-between verses. Chaz was working the grill nearby, whistling along to the classic song as he flipped the burgers. Luan and Maggie sat close together, whispering when to put their plan into action. Leni couldn't remember the words to the song, so she just focused her attention on Lily as she bounced the giggling baby on her knees.

"Thank you, residents of Camp Crystal Lake!" Luna shouted, throwing the goats high in the air. "Now, any _requests?_ "

"Oh, do you guys know _Sweet Caroline?_ " Chaz offered, handing out burgers to everyone/

"You _got it_ , dude!" Luna was about to start strumming again when Sam stopped her.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait, hang on a minute, babe." She asked. "I _forget_ , is _Sweet Caroline_ played in the key of _G_ or _D?_ "

" _Neither_ , it's the key of _C_." Luna corrected.

"I thought it was the key of _E?_ " Bobby piped up.

"Maybe it's the key of _Z!_ " Leni offered.

" _Leni_ …" Luna smacked her head in frustration. "There _is no_ key of Z."

"Well, while you guys sort this out…" Luan got up from her log, giving a sly wink to Maggie. " _I_ gotta go _pee_. Ha ha ha! Get it?" Everyone groaned at the horrible pun.

"Okay, any _other songs?_ " Sam asked the group.

"I've got a _better_ idea…" Everyone turned their attention to Maggie. The alternative tween grinned wickedly once she was sure she had everyone's attention. "We could tell _scary stories_."

"That sounds _fun_." Sam shrugged. Everyone got closer, wanting to hear.

"Uh… _sure_." Leni smiled, nervously. "Let's do _that_."

"Oh, look, Leni's _spooked!_ " Lori teased. Everyone laughed.

"No, I'm _not!_ Leni snapped.

"Then why're ya squeezin' Lily tighter?" Luna cocked a smug eyebrow.

" _Because_ …" Leni tried to sound brave. "I'm, like, trying to keep her _warm!_ "

" _Alright_ , then…" Nobody wanted to try and argue with Leni's inane logic, so they just listened to the story. "Luan and I had a little _talk_ with that clerk at the gas station." The group leaned in closer. "He told us that at _this very camp_ , a woman worked here as a _cook_ , and one summer she brought her only son, _Jason_ , to become one of the campers. But, you see, Jason was born with a lot of severe _deformities_. Both _physical_ and _mental_. And the other children at the camp were _cruel_ and _unkind_. They _threw him_ into the lake while his mother was busy in the kitchen. The counselors were too busy _making love_. They couldn't _save him_. Jason's mother _blamed_ the counselors for her only child's death and went on a _killing spree_ for _weeks_ before she was finally _beheaded_ by one of her _would-be_ victims."

Everyone looked genuinely nervous about where the story was going, unaware that someone was lurking in the bushes behind them. "Now, I don't wanna _scare anyone_ … but, I'm gonna give it to you, _straight_ , about Jason; his body was never _recovered_. Legend has it that Jason actually _survived_ the ordeal. And that he is _still out there_ , in this _very camp_." Leni shuddered with fear and moved closer to Chaz. "He stumbled, _aimlessly_ , through the woods, struggling to return to the camp. And he arrived just in time to see the death of his beloved mother. The woman who killed her? She went _missing_ two years _after_ it happened. They never found her, but the people around here _know_ it was _Jason_."

The stalker grew closer still as Maggie went on. "He lives _here_ , now... Fully grown… as some sort of _vengeful revenant_ … keeping the campgrounds _free_ from all trespassers… killing them as a way to _appease_ his mother's soul. And by now I think you've guessed _why_ this place has been _abandoned_ until now… Jason is _still out there_ … searching… hunting… _hungry_ for _young blood_."

"RAAARGH!" A person in a hideous Halloween mask popped out from behind the bushes, wielding a fake spear. Leni jumped into the air and ran off with Lily, screaming at the top of her lungs. Everyone else jumped, but soon realized it was only Luan.

"HA HA HA HA! You should've seen your _faces!_ " Luan laughed, bumping fists with Maggie

"Ugh!" Lori groaned. "You two are, _literally_ , the _worst!_ "

"Leni!" Luna called. "Leni, come _back!_ It was just Luan!"

The second-oldest Loud stomped back to the bonfire with a sour look on her face. "That was _not_ funny!" She snapped, trying to sooth the crying baby in her arms.

"It seemed pretty funny to _me_." Luan, still laughing, wiped the tears from her eyes.

"Oh, _yeah?_ Well, _you_ scared Lily, _you_ calm her down!" She angrily handed over the infant and stormed off.

"I'm gonna go _talk_ to her." Chaz stated, and set off to console his friend. Lori wrapped one arm around Bobby and pointed at her sister with the other. "Luan…" She threatened. " _One_ of these days, somebody is going to _kick your ass!_ C'mon, Boo-Boo Bear, let's go inside."

With that, the two lovers went into the cabin and made their way upstairs, taking the birth control with them.

Additionally, Luna and Sam walked off together towards the lake for a little alone time of their own. This left Luan and Maggie alone at the dying bonfire, trying to get Lily to calm down. Maggie couldn't stand the screaming; she covered her ears and closed her eyes tight. She started to move away, when she suddenly found herself hoisted up into the air, startling both young teens.

"Who the _fuck_ put a _rope trap_ in the middle of a _campsite?!_ " She shrieked.

"Don't worry!" Luan said. "I think I saw a _machete_ in the cabin. I'll put Lily in her crib and come back for you." Before the young comedian left, she couldn't help herself. "Don't _go_ anywhere."

"Ha _ha_." Maggie deadpanned.

Luan made her way into the cabin, gently rocking her baby sister to sleep and laid her down in the portable crib. A pleased shriek came from upstairs, followed by a creaking noise that could only come from a bed. Luan rolled her eyes and began to search for the machete. But she was so caught up in her search, she didn't notice that Lily was climbing out of the crib and crawling out through the door.

The innocent infant giggled happily as she crawled through the wet, cool mud. She tried to stand up on her own, but kept falling flat on her bottom. Nevertheless, she was determined to keep going. She continued to crawl forward, not paying attention to where she was going until she bumped into a pair of boots. Her babbling stopped as she looked up to see a man with a burlap sack on his head. "Gabba?"

* * *

Meanwhile, Luna and Sam had finally rolled up a pair of cigarettes with marijuana. The two rocker girls each took a long puff and exhaled, happily. The feeling was pure bliss as their world swirled into beautiful colors. They looked at each other with passionate expressions. They pulled together into a deep, sloppy kiss, groping each other's breasts as they did so.

"How d'ya _feel?_ " Sam asked.

" _Comfortably Numb!_ " Luna shouted. The two laughed at the slurred music reference. "Say! I've got a _bloody brilliant idea_ , luv: let's go _skinny dippin'!_ "

"No argument from me!" Sam agreed, still under the effects of the drug. The blonde girl started first, taking off her jacket and then moving on to her t-shirt.

As Luna tried to follow suit, she got lost in the beautiful sight of Sam's exposed breasts as she struggled to get her shirt over her head. But her drugged mind was so obsessed with her girlfriend, she didn't even notice the sharp blade digging into her skull until it was too late. At last, Sam removed the troublesome article of clothing. She immediately sobered up when she saw the killer holding Luna by the neck. She didn't even have time to scream; the man stuck the knife into her heart and she fell backwards into the lake.

The man slowly crept back towards the cabin, and spotted that his trap had worked. "Where _are_ you, Loud…" Maggie muttered. Suddenly, she yelped in pain as she felt someone yank her long hair back. The last thing she saw was a screwdriver that quickly dug into her eye. The man muffled her screams until she finally stopped moving. He heard footsteps coming from inside the cabin, and hid behind one of the big trees.

"I _found it!_ " Luan called out as she approached. "You didn't think I left you _hanging_ , did ya? Ha ha ha! Get it?" Maggie's body rotated and Luan stopped laughing. The young brunette dropped the machete and screamed in terror. Her mind wouldn't think straight, and she desperately hugged the corpse. She turned around to pick up the machete again, but someone else had beaten her to it. Luan let out one final scream as the killer brought the blade down onto her face.

Back in the cabin, Lori was overwhelmed with the feeling of euphoria as Bobby kissed her. The two lovebirds were moaning in pleasure under their sheets. Lori had already had four orgasms, and was looking forward to her fifth. "Oh, _god_ … oh, _god_ …" She moaned. Bobby loved the sounds Lori made whenever he dominated her in bed.

But when the oldest Loud girl opened her eyes from her lust-induced serenity, she gasped at the sight before her. A man had snuck into the bedroom and was holding a gigging pole over them.

"Oh, _god!_ " She cried.

Bobby simply thought she had reached her fifth climax, but was soon corrected when the spear dug into his back. The pole had gone straight through both young adults, killing them instantly.

Jason looked down at his victims. He had counted seven people invading his property, and now only two remained. _"Kill them, Jason… kill for mommy…"_ His mother's voice echoed in his head. He would. He would kill them for his mother. All he had to do was wait.


	4. The Loud Thirteenth Part 3

Chaz found Leni down by the creek that ran into the lake. She wasn't crying, but she was hugging her knees very close to her chest. The plump teenager sat down next to his friend, putting one arm around her shoulders. "Are you _okay?_ "

"What if the story is _true?_ " Leni asked. Chaz cocked a curious eyebrow. "I mean about _Jason_. He'd be _fully grown_ by now, wouldn't he? What if he _did_ see his mother get killed and now he's _taking revenge?_ I mean, I kinda feel _bad_ for him, y'know? He'd be like a _little boy_ trapped in an _adult body_ , waiting for his mother to _come home_. And I'm _telling you,_ I _saw someone_ in the woods earlier today."

"Leni… Jason Voorhees is a _myth_." Chaz assured her. "A _myth_. He _drowned_ in the lake and his mother _died_. That's _all_. It was a _tragic thing_ , yeah, but the rest is _nothing more_ than an _urban legend_. Whatever it was you saw was probably just some kind of _animal_. Now, _c'mon_. It's getting pretty _late_. We should go to sleep. We've got a lot _planned_ for tomorrow."

"Okay." She conceded and followed him back towards the cabin. On their way, Leni spotted someone floating in the lake. "Luna?" She called. "Luna, is that _you?_ " But the body didn't move, it just floated, aimlessly, through the water. Leni knew something was wrong. She took off her sweater and began to wade out into the lake. Chaz waited on the beach, ready to help resuscitate if needed. Leni finally grabbed Luna's legs and pulled her to the shore. But when they dragged her onto the beach, they both screamed in terror at the sight of a large cut in her head.

Leni buried her face in her palms, crying at the loss of her little sister. Chaz looked around the area to see if he could find whoever did this, instead, he found Sam's body washed up under the dock. Chaz managed to pull Leni up to her feet, insisting that they get back to the cabin and warn the others. But on their way inside, they ran into Maggie and Luan, two more victims of whoever killed the two rockers.

They moved past the bodies and ran inside. "You go find Lori and Bobby! I'll call the police!" Chaz told her. Leni quickly darted upstairs, tripping on the last step and bumping her head on the floor, but she got back up and rushed to the oldest couple's room.

"Lori!" She shouted as she banged on the door. "Lori! Bobby! We _have_ to get out of here!" She rattled the doorknob until it finally opened. She slowly stepped closer to the bed, gingerly grabbing the corners of the blanket. She yanked the blanket off to reveal the bloody corpses of her only older sister and her boyfriend. Leni fell to her knees, sobbing loudly, wondering why this was happening to them.

Then, she realized that whoever did this might still be nearby. She quickly got back to her feet, still shaking in terror, and moved down the hall back to the stairs. She was just halfway down when she saw a shadow sneaking up from behind Chaz. " _Look out!_ "

Chaz turned around just in time to dodge the gigging pole. Jason dropped the pole and Chaz jumped onto his back, trying to pin him to the ground. But Jason was much stronger than his prey, and easily brushed him off. Luckily, Leni had picked up a baseball bat and hit it against his head. She hit him a few more times before dropping the bat and helping Chaz up. They grabbed the keys to Vanzilla and rushed outside. Once inside the vehicle, Chaz fumbled with the keys.

"Believe me, _now?_ " Leni shuddered.

"Yeah.." He whimpered. "But who's gonna believe _me?_ "

He turned the keys in the ignition but the van wouldn't start. Leni was on the verge of a nervous breakdown, bawling as the engine tried to start. Suddenly, her head snapped up as she realized: "Oh, my God! _LILY!_ W-w-we can't _leave_ without Lily!" She kicked open the passenger door and frantically rushed back up to the cabin.

"Leni, _no! Wait!_ He'll kill _you, too!_ " Chaz yelled as he got out of the driver's seat. He tried to chase after her, but he slipped on a patch of mud, sliding down the hill where he hit his head on a rock.

Leni, cautiously, stepped towards the cabin. She opened the door, walked inside, and her eyes widened in shock. "Chaz…? Jason's _gone_ … Chaz?" She looked behind herself to see that no one was there. Leni's breath hitched. It was bad enough that she was the dumbest person she knew, but now, there was a killer on the loose, three of her sisters were dead, one was missing, and she was looking for her all by herself.

Having grown up in such a large family, that had always been her real worst fear: being alone.

She crept through the kitchen, grabbing a kitchen knife for protection. She opened every cabinet, hoping that one of them would have her baby sister hiding behind it. Against her better judgement, she moved back upstairs to check every room. First bedroom; no one in there. Second bedroom; no one in there. Third bedroom; a pitchfork tried to stab her in the head.

She ducked just in time, and stabbed Jason in the foot. As the hulking man tried to pull the blade free, Leni scurried downstairs. Jason soon chased after her and saw her hide in the bathroom. Leni held the door closed with all of her strength, trying not to sound too scared as Jason pounded on it from the outside. The girl, hastily, looked around, trying to find an exit. The pounding finally died down and Leni's eyes darted to the window. She grabbed a towel off the rack and tied it around the doorknob and one of the sink cabinets. She carefully unlocked the window's latch and made her way out.

But she didn't get far. Jason was waiting for her with the pitchfork. She screamed again and hurried back inside. Fortunately, the towel wasn't strong enough and the door opened easily. She ran out of the bathroom, and was about to go out through the front door, but she saw Jason running up from the window. She ran back upstairs and hid under her bed. Jason's footsteps came from the stairs and he wandered in and out of every bedroom.

All Leni had to do was wait for him to go away, and then she could sneak back to Vanzilla, run to the nearest town, and come back to save Lily. But bad luck caught up to her when a giant spider crawled over to her. Leni held her hand over her mouth, stifling her screams as the hideous arachnid crawled over her face. She was so caught up in keeping quiet, she didn't notice that she was actually wetting herself from fear. At last, she opened her eyes after hearing the door close. Jason was gone. She carefully poked her head out from under the bed and looked up.

Leni's screams echoed around the camp. Jason was hiding on top of the other bed, waiting for her to show herself. And he would have gotten her if the mattress hadn't caved in. The pitchfork snapped in half and Leni ran out the door. Grabbing the keys, she ran back to Vanzilla and started the engine. She, forcefully, pushed the gear shift down and stomped on the gas pedal. Vanzilla crashed into a tree and the airbag broke Leni's nose.

" _Damn it!_ " She cried. Looking in the rear-view mirror to see if any serious damage had been done, she spotted Jason coming out of the cabin, running after her with a pickaxe. She screamed again and ran off into the woods. The adrenaline pumping through her veins was enough to keep her going. But everywhere she went, Jason cut her off.

Just when she thought she was running out of options, she saw a run-down shack with lights inside in the distance. "Help!" She cried, running inside. "Please, _help!_ " She entered the shack, trying to find anyone who could help her, but it was completely empty. She started crying again as she saw Jason catching up to her again.

She rushed into one room, and barricaded the door with a thick log. She tried to steady her breathing, but it only got worse when Jason started chopping at the door with his pickaxe. Leni turned around to find another exit, only to become paralyzed with fear.

Behind her was a crudely built altar with a light blue sweater and a rotting, severed head on top. The story was true; Jason was killing to avenge his mother's death. Leni's brain finally reactivated at the sound of another chop. She took a step backwards, crushing a picture frame under her foot. She kneeled down to pick up the picture and saw it was a woman in her late teens holding a baby Jason. _"_ This _was Jason's mother?"_ She thought to herself, stunned by the uncanny resemblance she shared with her.

And in that moment, something spectacular happened. Something that most of her family always thought would never happen. Something that surprised Leni, herself. She got an idea. As the chopping continued, Leni put on the tattered sweater, fixed her hair so that it looked like the woman's, and hide a rusty machete behind her back.

Jason was furious. The final intruder had not only invaded his land, but now, his own personal property. After he had broken the door down, he would tear her limb from limb, and use her blood to paint the walls of his home. At last, the barricade gave way…

" _Jason!_ " And the killer stopped, dead in his tracks. His mother was standing right in front of him. Back from the grave.

"It's _over_ , Jason…" Leni forced a smile onto her face as she spoke. So far, her plan was working. "Y-you've _done_ your job, Jason… Mommy's _very proud_ of you…"

Jason's mind was having trouble processing what was going on. His mother had died, and yet she was standing right there. He lifted the pickaxe again, ready to strike.

"Jason, mommy is _talking_ to you!" Leni was starting to cry again, but steadied her voice when she noticed her tone had seriously affected Jason. "Jason… mommy is _talking_ to you…" Jason lowered the axe again. "Th-that's _good_ , Jason… _kneel down_ … mommy has a _special reward_ for you. _Kneel down_ …" Jason slowly got down on his knees, not wanting to upset her.

" _That's_ it… that's a _good boy_ … that's a _good boy_ …" Leni carefully lifted the machete over her head, preparing to end the man's reign of terror. But she twisted her body too far, moving away from the altar, revealing the severed head to Jason. Just as Leni brought her weapon down, Jason blocked it and cut her thigh.

"Leni!" Chaz had found the shack and saw that Jason was about to finish the kill. Without hesitating, he jumped onto Jason's back, wrapping his arms, tightly, around his neck. While they fought, Leni hurried to grab the machete again. Jason now had his full attention on Chaz and was about to dig the pickaxe into his chest. But Leni was faster, and chopped hard into his shoulder.

Jason dropped the axe as the pain spread throughout his body. He tried to pull the blade out, but he was starting to lose consciousness. Ultimately, he succumbed to the pain, and fell to the ground. Leni wanted to see if he was still breathing, so she gingerly pulled the burlap sack off of his head. Both teens recoiled in disgust once they saw his horribly deformed face.

Leni tried to stand, but her thigh was seriously hurt. Chaz lifted her up in his arms and gently carried her back to the cabin. When they arrived, Chaz got the first-aid kit and did his best to help her wound. "Chaz…" Leni whimpered. "We _can't_ leave without Lily… she's just _gotta_ be out there, somewhere…"

"We _won't_. I _promise_." He replied. The two friends hugged each other, tight, comforting themselves from the traumatic experience.

Suddenly, a scratching noise came from the cabin door. The two teens quietly grabbed pieces of the broken pitchfork, Leni pointed the sharp sharp end at the door while Chaz used the handle as a blunt weapon. He slowly got up and moved to the door. If it was Jason again, they were going to finish him, once and for all. Chaz looked at Leni, who nodded as if to tell him to open the door. He grabbed the doorknob and the door flung open. Leni's lips quivered, her eyes began to water, and she dropped the pitchfork.

Sitting there, half-naked, muddy, but otherwise unharmed, was the littlest Loud. Lily rose to her feet and began to stumble towards her sister, giggling happily as she always did. "Oh, my _God_ …" Leni cried in relief. "Yes… yes, _that's it_ , Lily… come to Leni…"

" _RAAAAAGH!_ "

" _AAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!_ " Leni shrieked in terror as Jason crashed through the window, pulling her out into the wilderness once again.

* * *

"Miss! Miss, can you hear me? I think she's waking up."

Leni's eyes slowly opened up, trying to adjust to the morning sunlight. As she looked around, she spotted the cut that she received from Jason was unmended, and still bleeding. The camp was now surrounded by policemen and EMT, and she was strapped down to a gurney to keep from moving, being loaded into an ambulance. But the other two survivors were nowhere to be seen. "L-Lily?! Chaz?! Lily?!"

"No! _No, no, no, no, no, no_. Don't try to _talk_. Sanchez! Get her leg bandaged up, _stat!_ "

Leni was still screaming when the ambulance's doors were shut, and the sound of the siren soon drowned out her desperate cries. After collecting the rest of the bodies and preparing to take them to the morgue, everyone left, and Camp Crystal Lake was silent and still once again.

 **(...)**

 **Starring**

 **Leni Loud**

 **Lori Loud**

 **Luna Loud**

 **Luan Loud**

 **Lily Loud**

 **Bobby Santiago**

 **Sam**

 **Maggie**

 **Chaz**

 **And Jason Voorhees**


	5. The Thing Part 1

It is the year 2033, in an American research base in Antarctica. Coincidently, the agents that were sent there were all former residents of Royal Woods, Michigan. Lincoln Loud, one of the pilots assigned to the group, was in his private shack, drinking whiskey and playing his favorite videogame on story mode. He had just won his fifth, consecutive level, and he only needed to win six.

"Poor baby, you're starting to _lose it_ , aren't you?" He chuckled at his impending victory. The final boss stage began shortly, and ended with Lincoln's character being killed in half a minute. Annoyed, Lincoln poured the contents of his drink onto the console, causing it to short out. "Cheating bitch…" He muttered to himself. He was about to polish off the rest of his whiskey when he heard a chopping noise coming from outside.

With the bottle still in his hand, Lincoln put on his coat and made his way outside. Two of his sisters, Lisa and Lynn, must have heard the commotion as well, because they were standing beside Ronnie Anne to see the source. A helicopter was flying dangerously low, circling around the camp.

"Anne, what's he doing?" Lynn asked the mechanic.

"Looks like he's just _hovering_ so far." The hispanic woman replied.

"Well, who _is_ he?"

"Says _'Norj'_ or something on the side."

" _Norwegian_." Lisa corrected.

As the helicopter got closer to the ground, the group could see someone inside shooting at something on the ground. Rusty Spokes, the military officer in charge of the operation peered through the window, loading up his revolver as the copter landed. Not long after, Zach, Liam, and Clyde came outside to see what was going on.

A sled dog ran up from the helicopter's path and started licking Zach's face. The helicopter landed just outside the camp, and two soldiers stepped out. One of them, the pilot, accidentally threw a grenade into the snow right next to the helicopter. He dove down to try and find it in the deep snow, while his friend ran towards the camp.

The chopper exploded violently, making everyone flinch from surprise. Lincoln finally caught up with the others, checking to make sure his sisters were all right. The other Norwegian didn't stop to mourn his friend, he got up quickly and started shouting at the group. "Få helvete unna! Det er ikke en hund! Det er en slags ting! Det eretterligner en hund!" The group couldn't understand what he was saying. "Kom deg unna, du idioter!"

He aimed his rifle and fired at the dog. But the dog ran away, frightened, letting the bullet hit Zach's leg. Everyone else dove out of the way, trying to stay away from the maniac. Rusty smashed the glass in the window and aimed his pistol. With one shot, the Norwegian fell to the ground, dead. Lincoln was the first one to get up and check on his friend.

"Zach! Zach, you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm _alright_." Zach breathed through his teeth.

Lincoln gave Zach the bottle of whiskey and he and Ronnie Anne went to the sight of the chopper. Clyde and Liam followed with fire extinguishers. Lincoln, his sisters, and Ronnie Anne were kicking snow onto the smaller flames while Clyde and Liam used the extinguishers on the larger wreckage. "First goddamn week of winter." Lincoln muttered to Lynn.

After the chaos ended, Lincoln and Clyde carried the Norwegian inside, while Liam and Ronnie Anne helped Zach into the infirmary. In the meantime, Lynn took the dog to the rec-room. In less than ten minutes, Haiku was finishing up with Zach's leg. The redhead winced in pain as the needle slid through his skin.

"Oh, _please_ …" Haiku rolled her eyes, apathetically. "It's _four stitches_. The bullet barely _grazed_ you."

"What the hell were they doing flying so _low?_ " Zach pondered out loud. "Shooting at a _dog?_ And then at _us?_ "

"Stir crazy?" She offered with a shrug. "Cabin fever, who _knows?_ "

"Well, I _wanna_ know." Rusty announced. Lincoln and Clyde had gone back to the wreckage to see if they could salvage anything, so he gathered everyone else into the rec-room to discuss their next move. Lisa went off to check on the progress of their communications officer.

"U.S. Outpost number thirty-one, calling _McMyrtle_ , over?" Penelope took her finger off of the microphone's button to let the skipper respond, but all she heard was static. She pressed down, harder, clearly aggravated. "U.S. Outpost number thirty-one, calling _McMyrtle,_ _urgent!_ Come in! Over?" Still, only static. " _Great._ " She cursed under her breath, taking off her headphones.

"Come on, come on!" Lisa tugged at her sweater, trying to prompt her to keep calling.

"Nobody!" Penelope replied.

"' _Nobody…'_ " Lisa scoffed. "You need to contact _somebody!_ You need to contact _anybody!_ Protocol commands that we _report_ situations such as this!"

"Look!" Penelope slammed her fist onto her desk. She knew it was important to report the horrifying situation, but she didn't appreciate Lisa's tone. "I haven't been able to _reach_ shit in over _two weeks!_ I highly doubt _anybody_ has spoken to _anybody_ on this _entire continent_ , and _you_ want _me_ to reach somebody?!"

"Hey, cut the chatter." Rusty entered the room. "We're meeting in the rec-room."

A few moments later, Leni, Lincoln's other sister and the team's chef, rolled into the room with Liam close behind her. "Y'know, I was _wonderin'_ when _el capitan_ was gonna get a chance ta use his _pop gun_." Rusty shot the redneck and angry glance as he chewed on tobacco.

"Alright, let's get _serious_ here." He said. "Lisa, do we have a map of where _other_ countries are stationed?"

"Of _course_." The scientist replied. "Every research facility comes equipped with knowledge of other facilities should an emergency occur."

"Good. Haiku, you and Lincoln go up to where they're stationed and see if they need help."

"Whoa, whoa, _whoa!_ Hold on!" Lisa spoke up. "Are you certain that this is a good idea? What if the _rest_ of them turn out to be hostile? Haiku did suggest they are suffering cabin fever."

"Well, did that _'knowledge of other facilities'_ tell you how long they've been _out there?_ "

Lisa glanced down at the files she held tightly in her grasp. "Hmm, says here _five weeks_."

"That ain't long enough for them to go _bonkers_." Liam piped up.

" _Bullshit_ , Liam." Zach snorted. "Look at _you;_ you've been crazy since _day one_." The redneck smiled sarcastically and flipped his friend the bird. "But _seriously_ , why _did_ they attack us?"

"Oh!" Leni snapped her fingers and smiled, enthusiastically. "Maybe we're at war with _Norway!_ " Everyone else in the room gave her incredulous looks. Leni frowned and crossed her arms over her chest, feeling insulted. "Well, I don't hear _you guys_ coming up with anything!"

"Alright, Doc, I'll give ya a lift." Liam got up from his seat, ready to get his flight suit.

"No, you're staying _here_ , Liam." Rusty declined.

"Hey, thanks for _thinkin'_ 'bout it, though."

* * *

Back outside, the fire had now completely died down. Lincoln and Clyde had salvaged as much as they could from the damaged chopper, including six damaged canisters of kerosene. "What was all _this_ for?" Clyde wondered.

"Lincoln!" The base's pilot turned his head to see Haiku and Rusty heading towards them. "Linc! Get your gear ready!" Lincoln looked up at the sky, feeling nervous. He met the duo at their own chopper, and, after they explained they wanted to see if there were any survivors at the other camp, he finally voiced his concerns.

"Look, guys, I'm not sure this is a _good idea_ , right now. The storm-"

"It's not a _storm_ , Linc." Rusty interrupted. "As soon as you get _high enough_ it'll _clear up_."

"And what if you're _wrong?_ " Lincoln argued. "If we get _caught_ we can scratch _one_ of our _two pilots_ and our _only doctor_."

Haiku looked at Rusty, obviously preparing to side with Lincoln. "It's _your call_ , Lincoln." She said. "If you don't want to fly, we don't fly."

Lincoln sighed. "You _really_ wanna save those crazy Swedes, huh?"

" _Norwegians_." She corrected. Lincoln motioned for her to get in the helicopter and the duo set off. Meanwhile, Leni was looking out the window, watching as the aircraft lifted into the sky.

"Linky's really going, isn't he?" She said to herself, uncomfortably. Lisa and Lynn comforted their older sister, trying to assure her that he would be safe. But while Lynn was preoccupied, the dog they had rescued wandered off to explore the facility.

A few hours later, Lincoln and Haiku finally spotted the Norwegian camp, only to find that a tall pillar of smoke was climbing up to the heavens, as the rest of the camp was in shambles. Lincoln landed at a safe distance away from the base and they got out to inspect. Lincoln grabbed his shotgun and used it to break the handle off of the door. Inside, it was deathly quiet.

"Anybody there?" Lincoln called out. He didn't really expect to hear a reply, but he wanted there to be one. "Hey, Sweden!"

"They're not _Swedish_ , Linc, they're _Norwegian_." Haiku sounded as if she was getting tired of reminding her friend. As they inspected the ruined facility, Lincoln noticed most of the walls were riddled with bullets. There was even an axe lodged in a concrete wall. They made their way into the radio room, and Haiku immediately noticed a trail of blood leading to someone sitting at the desk.

Instinctively, she placed a hand on the person's shoulder, causing him to lean back, revealing his slit throat. Lincoln aimed his flashlight at the rest of the man's body, finding a shaving razor in his palm. "Good _God_ …" Haiku shuddered. "What the hell _happened_ here?"

Lincoln went back out into the hallway to inspect the rest of the building while Haiku looked through the Norwegians' research tapes and papers. She had just finished gathering them into her satchel when she heard her pilot call her name. She walked as quickly as she could, trying to find the source of his voice. At last, she found him.

The pilot was standing in front of a large block of ice with a hole carved out of it. They glanced at each other, nervously, and decided to head back to their own camp.

* * *

Back at Outpost 31, Lynn, Lisa, and Leni had retreated to the rec-room to unwind with the others. Lynn had decided to join Clyde and Liam in playing with a hacky sack. Lisa and Rusty were watching a few of the movies they brought with them. And Leni, Penelope, Zach, and Ronnie Anne were content to playing a game of poker. Everything was peaceful, until:

"AH!" Zach dropped his hand as the sled dog stepped on his foot. "Lynn, will you put this mutt with the _others_ where it _belongs?!_ "

"Yeah, okay…" Lynn sighed and beckoned the dog to follow her. She crept down the darkened hallway, muttering about how badly she needed to have Ronnie Anne change the lightbulbs. When she finally got to the kennel, she opened the gate, but the dog wouldn't go in.

"Go _on_." She ordered. But the dog still hesitated. "Well, what are you _waiting for?_ Go on…" At last the dog made its way inside. Lynn locked the gate and stared at the dog for a while longer. _"That has to be the_ weirdest _dog I've ever seen… I miss_ Charles _."_ She thought to herself. After she left, the dog laid down on the ground.

But it didn't go to sleep. A low hissing noise came from its throat, waking up the other malamutes. The dogs immediately sensed an evil presence radiating from their guest, and began to growl and bark at it. Suddenly, the new dog's mouth opened up so wide, it split apart into four different directions. Its body began to twist and elongate into a grotesque form, frightening the other dogs. They clawed at the cage, desperately trying to escape, but it was no use. The thing grew tendrils that lashed out at the other dogs, dragging them closer to it.

Lynn had heard to noise from down the hall and came to see what was going on. As she fiddled with the flashlight in her hand, she opened the gate with the other. Just as the light turned on, two dogs rushed out of the kennel, trampling her as they fled. The flashlight rolled on the floor until it shone onto the target.

Lynn quickly kicked the gate shut and hurried to lock it. She ran out of the hallway, and activated the fire alarm.

* * *

 **(...)**

 **FLASHFAN123 Proudly Presents**

 **(...)**

 **John Carpenter's**

 **THE THING**


	6. The Thing Part 2

Lincoln and Haiku landed back at the base, ready to take the Norwegian research to Lisa for study. Once the chopper's rotors quieted down, they heard the fire alarm coming from inside the base. The duo rushed into the kennel to see what happened. They found Lynn standing away from the cage, shaking from fright. She pointed at the cage, warning them not to go near it.

"I don't know what the hell's _in_ there." She stated. "But it's _weird_ and _pissed off_."

"Doc, go get Santiago!" Lincoln ordered.

Everyone else in the rec-room was startled. They couldn't smell any smoke, so they wondered, out loud, why someone had pulled the alarm. Ronnie Anne was just putting on her coat when Haiku ran to her open doorway. "Linc wants the flamethrower!" She yelled.

"Linc wants the _what?_ "

"That's what he said, now _move!_ "

Ronnie Anne cursed under her breath and went to fetch the flamethrower. Everyone else saw Haiku running back outside and decided to follow her. By that time, Lincoln had gone back to get a shotgun out from his chopper and Lynn picked up the flashlight. When everyone, sans Ronnie Anne, was inside the kennel, Lynn shined the flashlight on the the source of the confusion.

Everyone gasped. Lying there, feeding off of the dogs' corpses, was a horrific creature made of shifting flesh. It's head looked like that of a dog, but it was twisted and disfigured and snarled at them. Its tendrils had finished pulling the dogs into its body and were now reaching out for the others. Lincoln took that as a signal to open fire.

He managed to hold it back until Ronnie Anne entered with the flamethrower. She stopped dead in her tracks when she got to the gate and saw the thing. "Madre de Dios…" She whispered under her breathe.

"Get your ass _over here!_ " Lincoln snapped. Ronnie Anne shook her head, activating the flamethrower. Lincoln opened the cage. " _Burn it!_ " But Ronnie Anne froze once again. " _Damn it,_ Anne! _TORCH IT!_ " As one of the tendrils lashed out again, Ronnie Anne finally pulled the trigger, engulfing the monster in flames.

The thing emitted an unearthly roar as it trembled in pain. Anne blasted it a few more times until it finally stopped moving. The fire was beginning to spread, so Clyde and Rusty rushed in with the fire extinguishers. Smoke billowed everywhere until the cold CO2 put out the flames.

No one got any sleep that night.

* * *

Everybody helped carry the deceased monster into Lisa's lab for study. Clyde, her fellow biologist, helped her dissect the remains all night. Much to both of their shock, horror, and disgust, each layer revealed another terrifying face or limb. The others had retreated back into the rec-room, waiting for them to come out of the lab.

The next morning, everyone was still waiting until, "You guys _need_ to see this." Clyde beckoned the group. Everybody crowded around the dissected creature, unsure what to make of it. Leni lasted five minutes before she gagged and left the room.

"You see," Lisa began. "What we _have_ here is what _appears_ to be an extraterrestrial organism that imitates other life-forms. And does so, _perfectly_. When this specimen attacked our dogs it was trying to _digest_ them. _Absorb_ them. And, in the process, reshape its own molecular structure into an exact copy of _theirs_." Lisa tapped one of the severed heads with a pencil. " _This_ for instance… it's not a _dog_ , it's an _imitation_. We managed to discover it before it had time to finish."

"Finish?" Lynn sounded, perplexed. "Finish _what?_ "

"Finish _imitating_ these dogs." Lisa clarified.

"So that Norwegian feller was tryin' ta _help us_." Liam suddenly felt guilty. "An' we _killed_ 'im."

"Indeed…" Lisa said, gravely. "Now, I highly recommend that we-"

"Alright!" Leni stormed into the lab with a frustrated expression. "Which one of you _disrespectful slobs_ has been throwing away their _dirty underwear_ in the kitchen trashcan?!" She threw the torn and tattered long johns onto the ground, next to Lincoln's seat. "From now on, I want my kitchen to be _clean!_ That means fifty percent _germ-free;_ twenty percent _sterile;_ and forty-five percent _un-dirtied!_ "

"...That adds up to _one hundred and fifteen percent_." Haiku cocked an eyebrow at Leni's logic. Leni was well-know as one of Lincoln's nicer sisters, but that didn't mean she couldn't still get annoyed. As the chef went away to prepare dinner, Lisa glanced at the shredded clothing before turning back to the thing.

"Ahem," Lisa broke the silence. "As I was saying; I highly recommend that we _isolate_ the specimen for further study. Lincoln, you will have to move your possessions out of the storage room so we can put it in there. Additionally, I propose that we quarantine the remaining dogs until further notice to ensure they were not infected."

"Alright." Rusty agreed. "Penelope, Liam, Zach; you guys take this thing to the storage room. Then we should all get some _rest_."

* * *

"Easy… _easy boy_ …" Lynn kept the dogs docile while her younger sister drew blood from them. Once Lisa was finished, she gave each of them a dog treat to make them feel better.

Lisa put the blood in a safe case, and looked back at the dog handler. "Lynn?"

"Hmm?" Lynn looked back at her.

"Before you placed it in confinement, did the canine unit exhibit any _unorthodox_ behavioral patterns?"

"Did the _what_ do _what now?_ "

Lisa groaned; it was so annoying to have to dumb down her lingo for others. "Did you notice anything _strange_ about the dog? Anything _at all?_ "

Lynn pondered. " _No_ , not _really_. Why?"

"What was the dog doing in the rec-room?"

"I dunno, just wandering around camp all day." Lynn shrugged.

"Are you telling me you didn't put that dog in the kennel until _last night?_ " Lisa sounded a little nervous.

"Yeah, I _guess so_."

"...how _long_ were you alone with that dog?"

"I don't _know_. An _hour?_ An _hour and a half_ , maybe?" Lynn was starting to feel agitated. "What the hell are you looking at me like that for?"

"Um… I _dunno_." Lisa muttered under her breath, trying to hide her anxiety.

"What?" Lynn leaned closer to her.

"I, uh… I don't _know_ …" Lisa said, a bit clearer this time. She adjusted her glasses and headed back to her room. "It's most likely _nothing_. Nothing at _all_."

When the twenty-year-old scientist entered her room, she locked the door and sat down at her desk. She took out a piece of paper and began doing the calculations herself. After thirty minutes of scribbling, she reached a conclusion that made the usually-stoic woman shudder.

" _Odds of one or more members of research team being infected: 86%. Projected calculations: If creature reaches civilization; entire world population would be assimilated in ~13,000 hours."_

Lisa was never one to suffer from paranoia, but the math didn't lie. She opened her desk's top drawer and pulled out her own revolver.

* * *

Meanwhile, Lincoln had just finished collecting his gear out of the storage room as Penelope, Zach, and Liam carried the thing inside. He was just about to leave when Clyde bumped into him.

"Hey, Linc, I need to talk to you."

"I'm _tired_ of talking, buddy." Lincoln sighed. "I just wanna get up to my _shack_ , get _drunk_ , play _videogames_ , and go to _bed_."

"Linc, _please_ … it's about one of your sisters." Clyde looked genuinely worried.

"If you're gonna ask me how to get Lori to divorce Bobby so you can win her heart-"

"Linc, _please!_ " Clyde snapped. Lincoln sighed, set his gear on the ground, and followed his oldest friend out to the snowcat.

Back in the storage room, Liam had left Penelope and Zach to go get some dinner. Penelope was just finishing covering the thing with a tarp. Her face twisted in disgust at the mangled flesh. "We ought to just _burn_ these things." She grumbled.

"You can't just burn the _find of the century_." Zach snorted. "That's gonna win _somebody_ the Nobel Prize."

Penelope finished covering up the burned specimen and went to find Rusty for the keys to the room. Zach stayed behind to finish tidying up. If either of them had looked at the right moment, they would have seen the creature shifting under the tarp. A bloody tendril sneaked out from the burnt body and made its way towards Zach.

Outside, Clyde and Lincoln were shivering in the snowcat's cab. "It's _Lisa_." He started. "She's locked herself in her room and won't come out. So, I went through some of her notes she left in the lab. Listen." He opened the manila folder and began to trace his finger along the text as he read it out loud. "'It could have assimilated a _million_ life-forms on a _million_ planets, could have turned into any _one_ of them at any _time_. Now, it wants life-forms of _Earth_.'"

"It's getting _cold_ out here, Clyde." Lincoln grunted.

"Wait a minute, Linc! Listen." Clyde continued. "'It needs to be in close proximity to its victim to assimilate it. The chameleon strikes in the dark-'"

"So, is Lisa _cracking up_ , or _what?_ " Lincoln was running out of patience.

"Dammit, Linc!" Clyde jumped ahead. "'There are still signs of cellular activity in these _burnt remains!_ It's not _dead,_ yet!'"

This time, Lincoln looked interested in what Clyde was saying. Neither of them were as smart as Lisa, but they had read enough comic books as children to know what that note meant. "Go get Rusty. I'll find Leni and the others, we'll get rid of the thing and meet back at Lisa's room in ten minutes."

Clyde nodded and the duo exited the snowcat and walked back to the outpost. But before they could reach the door, Penelope burst through with a panicked expression.

"It's _Zach!_ " She shuddered. The three friends rushed back inside. But when they reached the storage room, it was empty. "Zach was _right there!_ It had a hold of him!" Penelope shrieked. Lincoln noticed that the room's window was smashed open and pulled the fire alarm.

Zach was stumbling out of the building, trying to get to a snowcat, but he tripped before he could reach one. Lincoln was the first to find him, followed by Clyde, Penelope, Leni, Rusty, Liam, Lynn, and Haiku. "It isn't Zach!" Lincoln warned. He lit an emergency flare to help them see.

Zach lifted himself up onto his knees. He appeared to be unharmed, but his hands were elongated claws, covered in blood. He opened his mouth, shouting a familiar unearthly roar at Lincoln. The pilot kicked over a barrel of fuel, letting the hazardous liquid cover the imitation before throwing his flare onto it. The creature bellowed in pain as the flames melted away its body.

Lincoln rushed back inside to collect the flamethrower, Rusty followed closely behind him.

"My _God_." He gasped. "What was _happening_ to him out there?"

"If it'd had another minute, it would've _looked_ , _sounded_ , and _acted_ exactly like Zach." Lincoln replied.

"I-I don't understand what you're saying." Rusty pressed on.

"That was one of those _things_ out there, trying to _imitate_ him." Lincoln explained as he strapped the weapon to his back. "Let's go."

"Linc, we _know_ Zach!" Rusty spluttered, still shocked by the horrific event. "We've known him for _ten years_. He's our _friend_."

Lincoln could tell Rusty was upset, but this was no time for mourning. "We need to burn the _rest_." The entire crew spent the last forty minutes gathering up the remaining samples of the thing, making sure not to physically touch it, and stacked it with Zach's burning body. Lincoln blasted the things with his flamethrower until a tall pillar of smoke climbed up into the air.

"Is that _all_ of it?" Lincoln asked.

"We've cleared out the _storage room_ , the _lab_ , mopped up all the _blood_ , there is _nothing left_." Haiku answered.

"Where's _Lisa?_ " Rusty looked around. Everyone looked around the group, but they couldn't find her.

* * *

A few minutes later, Lincoln was still blasting the things until they were nothing but ashes. Clyde walked up to him and pulled down his scarf. "I can't find Lisa." He breathed, heavily.

"Where're the _others?_ "

"Well, Penelope's in the radio room trying to get a signal out, everyone else's in the rec-room."

"Alright, let's get back inside and we'll all look for her _together_."

Clyde nodded again and headed back inside. Lincoln waited a few more moments to make sure the thing wouldn't get up again, and headed inside. But just as he left the fire, he heard a crashing noise coming from the chopper. Someone hopped out of it and headed into the radio room.

"Lisa?" Lincoln called. He went to check on the helicopter, finding its control console in shambles. A gunshot rang out into the night, making him jump. He rushed into the building, rounding the corner to find everyone huddled outside of the radio room.

"Stay back! She's got a _gun!_ " Liam warned. Lincoln ducked, quickly.

"If anyone comes in here, I'll _kill_ them!" Lisa yelled, firing a warning shot out the door. Penelope had hid in the corner, trying to put pressure on her wound. Lisa continued to vent as she demolished the radio room with her axe. "You all think _I'm crazy?!_ Well, that's _fine!_ Most of you don't even _know_ what's going on! But, _I_ damn well _do!_ "

"She smashed up the chopper pretty good." Lincoln turned to the mechanic. "Anne, go see if she got to anything else." Ronnie Anne rushed outside and Rusty pulled out his revolver, but Lincoln stopped him. "Wait! Liam, go get a table out from the lab. Leni, go around to the other door. _Talk_ to her."

The two did as they were told. Liam had gotten the table just as Leni peeked her head through the door. "Lisa?" She spoke softly. "Lisa, just _calm down_. You don't want to _hurt_ anyone, right?"

Lisa shot off two more rounds in Leni's direction. Fortunately, the chef moved out of the way just in time. "I'll _kill you!_ " Lisa snarled, and fired her three remaining shots. After she threw the empty revolver at the doorway, all she was left with was her axe. That was when Lincoln rushed her.

Using the table as a shield, he blocked the axe and pinned her to the ground. Clyde and Liam held her down, giving Lincoln a chance to knock her unconscious. Haiku went to check on Penelope while the others carried Lisa out of the room.

Ultimately, the group decided to have her locked in the tool shed with enough canned food to last a few days and a kerosene heater. Leni gingerly placed her on the bed just as she started to wake up. Haiku injected her with morphine, both to help her with the pain in her head and to keep her docile.

"Why am I here?" She asked, groggily.

"For your own _protection_ , Lisa." Leni assured her and planted a feather-light kiss on her forehead.

Lincoln looked back to make sure everyone else was gone, then took out a bottle of scotch. "So, what's wrong, lil' sis?" He took a swig of the scotch and left the rest for her.

"... I don't know who to _trust_." If she was trying not to sound paranoid, she wasn't doing a very good job.

"I know what you _mean_ , Lisa." Lincoln said, soothingly, as he tucked her into the makeshift bed. "Trust is a hard thing to come by, these days. But, I'll tell you what," He smiled, genuinely, and patted her head. "Why don't you just _trust in the Lord?_ " He knew it was an odd thing to suggest to a person of science, but he had to offer something. He was almost out the door to meet up with the others when she spoke up again.

"Watch Lynn."

"... _what?_ " Lincoln asked, confused.

"I said _'watch Lynn.'_ And watch her _close_ , do you hear me?"

"Yeah…" Lincoln nodded, and went out to join the rest of the group.


	7. The Thing Part 3

Lincoln latched the tool shed from the outside and walked over to Rusty and Haiku. Ronnie Anne caught up, shortly afterwards. "So, anything left?" Rusty asked the Hispanic woman.

"She smashed up the chopper and both of the snowcats pretty good. And she's _killed_ the rest of the dogs." She sighed. "The _snowmobile_ is still good, but it's low on _gas_."

"Any chance of fixing the radio?" Lincoln looked at Rusty.

"No, damaged _beyond_ repair." The commanding officer looked down at his feet in disappointment.

"Then we're _completely_ cut off." Haiku muttered. "All we can do _now_ is sit tight and wait until _Spring_."

" _No_." Lincoln said firmly. His friends looked at him with suspicious expressions. "We _don't_ just _sit and wait_. Someone in this camp _isn't_ who they _say_ they are. Right now, that may just be _one_ or _two_ of us, but by Spring it could be _all_ of us."

"So, how do we know who's _human?_ " Ronnie Anne sounded nervous. "How do we know who we can _trust?_ " She looked at the others and pointed to herself. "If _I_ was an _imitation_ \- a _perfect_ imitation - how would you know it wasn't really _me?_ "

There was a long silence.

"Is there some kinda _test_ we could run, Doc?" Clyde turned to Haiku.

"Well, I _suppose_ …" The Goth physician rubbed her chin as she contemplated. "One thing we could _try_ would be a _blood serum test_."

"What's that?" Rusty asked.

"We take a _sample_ of each person's blood. Mix it with _uncontaminated_ blood. And, _theoretically_ , if there's a _reaction_ , we'd know who isn't _human_."

"We've got _whole blood_ in the med-lab." Rusty unhooked the keys from his belt and handed it to Haiku. "Lincoln, Clyde; while she's working on the test, I want you guys to _look around_. See if we _missed_ anything that needs to be _burned_."

"Right." Lincoln nodded before piping up. "Hey, everybody keep an eye on _Lynn_. She was _close_ to that dog."

The group split up, Lincoln and Clyde went into the storage room to look for any other pieces of the thing. Lincoln took out his flashlight and looked under the shelves and boxes. Suddenly, the light glistened off of a piece of metal with a few drops of blood on it. Lincoln took out a pair of pliers and picked it up, showing it to his best friend.

"What the hell is _this?_ " He asked.

"That looks like Zach's _titanium plate_ used to mend _broken bones_." Clyde examined the plate. "Zach broke his arm last year on the job. He had that put in to help fix it."

Lincoln looked at the metal plate with a cocked eyebrow. "So, if this was in his _arm_ , what's it doing _in here?_ " Before Clyde had time to answer…

"RUSTY! LINC! EVERYONE, COME HERE!"

The duo rushed towards the sound of the doctor's voice. Everyone was piling into the med-lab, trying to see what was wrong. Haiku was kneeling right in front of the blood bank. "Somebody got to the blood!"

" _What?!_ " Ronnie Anne looked around the room. "Where's Lynn?"

"Right _here_." Lynn muttered.

"Wait a minute, _wait a minute_." Lincoln tried to keep them calm. "Was this _broken into?_ "

"No, the lock's _undamaged_." Clyde inspected it. "Someone _unlocked_ it _, opened_ it _, closed_ it, and _locked it_ back up."

Everyone grumbled, looking at each other, suspiciously. Lincoln spoke first. "Well, who's got _access_ to it?" All eyes landed on the physician.

"I guess _I'm_ the only one." She said, calmly.

"And _I've_ got the only _key_." Rusty immediately regretted saying that.

"Would that test have _worked_ , Doc?" Lincoln turned to Haiku.

"Oh, I _believe so_. Yes."

"Someone _else_ sure as hell _thought so_." Ronnie Anne glared at the two suspects.

"Well, who _else_ could've used that key?" Lincoln turned back to Rusty.

"Nobody! I just give it to Haiku whenever she needs it!"

"Hmm… Could somebody have gotten it from _you_ , Doc?"

"I don't see _how_. As soon as I'm finished I _return_ it. Right away."

All eyes fell upon Rusty, now. The redhead started to perspire as he felt the heat from their suspicious glares. "I-I guess somebody could've lifted it off _me-_ "

"Oh, _c'mon!_ " Ronnie Anne snorted. "That _key ring_ is always hooked to your _belt_ , you-"

"It's _not_ enough to incriminate me!" The whole room erupted into a loud exchange of verbal threats and defense. "This is ridiculous! Haiku's the _only one_ who has _any business_ with it!"

"Now, _wait a minute_ , Rusty! You've been in here on _several occasions!_ "

"Haiku thought of the _test_." Clyde spoke up, trying to apply logic to the argument.

"So _what?_ Is that supposed to _clear her?_ " Ronnie Anne snapped.

"Well, _why_ would she _tell us_ if she was-?!" Again the room grew loud. This time, Lynn and Ronnie Anne got a little physical, pushing each other around the room. It wasn't until Rusty saw Penelope running down the hall that they all stopped arguing.

The woman smashed the glass of the gun case and pulled out a shotgun. She was just grabbing the bullets when the others caught up to her. Rusty aimed his pistol at her before she had time to load the weapon. "Drop it!"

"No!"

"I'll put this _right through_ your _head!_ "

"Are you guy's _really_ gonna listen to _Rusty?_ " Penelope whimpered. The stress of this was too much for her. "You gonna let _him_ give the orders?! He could _be_ one of those things!"

"Penelope!" Lincoln and Penelope had never exactly been the closest of friends, but he couldn't stand by and let her get shot. "Come on, _both of you_ , just put the guns _down_. _Neither of you_ wanna _hurt_ anybody, right? C'mon…" The curly-haired woman slowly put the shotgun on the ground, holding up her hands as she got back up. "It's on the _floor_." Lincoln said, firmly.

Rusty pointed his gun at the others, shaking nervously. "Now, _listen_ to me! I don't know about _Haiku_ … but I give you my word, I _didn't touch_ that blood!" He sighed, heavily, and set his gun down onto a wooden crate. "But I guess you guys'd all feel _better_ if someone _else_ was in charge for a while... Clyde, I don't think anybody would object to _you_."

Everybody looked at the team's second-hand biologist. "I-I'm sorry, guys, but I'm not up to it." He stuttered.

" _I'll_ take it." Ronnie Anne reached for the gun but she was cut off by Lincoln and Lynn.

"Like _hell_ you will." Lynn sneered as she pulled out her pocket knife. Lincoln grabbed the gun and put it in his pocket.

"How's about we leave this in the hands of someone a little more _even-tempered_ , Santiago?" He held out his hand towards Lynn, and his sister gave him the knife. "Now, listen _up_ … I know _I'm_ human. And if you were _all_ these things you'd just _attack me_ right now. So, some of you are _still_ human. This thing doesn't wanna _show itself_ , it wants to _hide_ inside an imitation. It'll _fight_ if it has to, but it's _vulnerable_ out in the open. If it gets _all_ of us, then it has _no more enemies_. No one left to _kill it_."

Everyone looked at each other, uncomfortably. They had all gotten to know each other very well over the past few weeks, and to not be able to trust anyone was unnerving. "Okay, Penelope, Liam, and Leni; you guys tie up Haiku and Rusty in the rec-room and shoot 'em up with _morphine_. Clyde, you start working on a new test."

"Linc, I need _Haiku's_ help!" Clyde argued. "We can't _drug_ her!"

"Just go through Lisa's notes and _try_ , Clyde!" Lincoln fumed. His friend didn't argue any further, he just nodded and went into the lab.

"What about _me_ , Linc?" Lynn tapped her brother's shoulder.

Lincoln looked at Ronnie Anne, then back at Lynn. Lisa's warning was still echoing in the back of his mind. He and Lynn had had a complicated relationship ever since they were kids, but they still loved each other. But still, he had to be cautious. "Uh, Lynn, you come with me and Ronnie Anne. Help see if there's anything left of that thing." The white-haired man couldn't help feeling guilty as his sister agreed, unaware of his suspicions.

While Lynn and Ronnie Anne were searching the halls, Lincoln stopped in the radio room with a tape recorder. He took a swig of his whiskey and pressed the record button. "I'm gonna _hide_ this tape when I'm finished. If none of us make it, at least there'll be some kinda _warning_ to others. The thing's hidden away from us in someone we've known for a _long time_. It's already killed _one_ of my friends and drove my little sister _crazy_. The storm's got us trapped with it for now, but it won't _last_. Clyde's got nothing to go on, yet…"

He paused the recording to finish what was left in the bottle. " _One more thing;_ I think it rips through your _clothes_ when it takes you over. Leni found some shredded long johns, but the _name tag_ was missing. They could belong to _anyone_. We're all very _tired_ … nobody _trusts_ anybody…" Realizing that last part sounded a bit emotional, he rewound the tape and recorded over it. "There's nothing else I can do. Just wait, and hope Clyde comes up with something… Lincoln Loud, helicopter pilot, U.S. Outpost 31."

He turned off the recorder and hid it behind Penelope's desk. He checked on Ronnie Anne and Lynn, the former of which was keeping her distance from the latter. As they passed the fifth corridor, Lincoln peaked inside the lab. His best friend was scribbling in his notebook when he noticed the other's presence.

"How's the test comin'?"

"I've got a few _ideas_." Clyde answered. "But, Linc, I've been _thinking:_ if just _one particle_ of this thing is enough to take over an entire _organism_ , then everyone should prepare their own meals. And I say we only eat out of _cans_."

"Alright. I'll pass the word along."

Clyde went back to his notebook to check the math of his equations. Just as he turned the page, he heard a bang coming from the distance and his room's light went out. He closed the notebook and reached for a lighter in the desk. He was preparing to go check on the generator room for burnt fuses, when he tripped on the rug.

Suddenly, a silhouette passed right in front of him at an inhuman speed. "W-who's that?" He called. He picked up a flare and followed the shadowy figure outside. The storm had died down for a brief moment, making it easier for him to see where he was going. He saw the figure go up to Lincoln's shack, leaving the door opened. The biologist trudged up to the shack, and made it inside. But the figure was nowhere to be seen. Then, he crouched down to examine something hanging out of the furnace.

It was a piece of cloth from a military jacket. One side read; _L. Loud._

* * *

"Anyone seen Clyde?" Lincoln had gathered the others into the rec-room. "Somebody blew a _fuse_ in the generator room. Lights were out for about an _hour_. Anyone of us could've gotten to him." No one said a word. "Alright… we're gonna _find_ him. Liam, you and Lynn check the South corridor. Ronnie Anne, you and Penelope check the _North_."

"I ain't goin' with _Lynn_." Liam objected. "I ain't _goin'_ with her. I'll go with Ronnie Anne."

"Hey, _fuck you_ , Liam!" Lynn moved to hit the redneck, but was stopped by Ronnie Anne.

"I ain't goin' with you!"

"Who says I want _you_ going with _me?!_ "

"ALRIGHT! CUT THE BULLSHIT!" Lincoln slammed his fist on the pool table, putting an end to the bickering. "Lynn, you come with _me!_ Leni, stay here and keep an eye on Haiku and Rusty. We _all_ meet back here in _twenty minutes,_ regardless! And everybody _watch_ who you're with. Real _close_."

As the group split up, Lincoln and Lynn made their way outside. Holding on to the guyline, they made their way to the tool shed. Lincoln opened the eye-slit. The wind was blowing fiercely, forcing Lincoln to raise his voice. "Hey, Lisa! Lisa, have you seen Clyde?!"

Lisa was wearing a heavy coat, sitting next to the kerosene heater and eating a can of beans. She looked rather bored. "Brother unit, I don't want to stay out here, anymore. I would like to return to the main camp."

"Have you seen Clyde?!" Lincoln repeated.

"There are some very odd _noises_ coming from outside, Lincoln. I'd be _lying_ if I said it didn't make me _nervous_."

"Have you come across Clyde?!"

Lisa sighed. " _No_. I have not seen Clyde. Now, I don't want to stay _out here_ , anymore. I will not _harm_ anybody. There is _nothing wrong_ with me. And if there _was_ , I'm much _better_ now. Now, you need to let me come _back inside_. You have my _promise_."

"... We'll _see_." Lincoln replied. But Lisa didn't want to wait. She got up from her bed and walked over to the door.

"Hey, _wait_ a minute! Wait a minute, Lincoln!" She peered through the eye-slit to meet her brother's eyes. "I want to come back _inside_ , don't you _understand?_ Look, I'm _alright_. I'm _much better_ , now. And I won't _hurt_ anybody. Now, you have to let me _come back insi-!_ "

Before she could finish, Lincoln shut the eye-slit. He stomped through the heavy snow to get close enough to his ally. "She says she hasn't seen him!"

"Well, what'd you _expect?!_ She's been locked up in the fuckin' _tool shed_ all day!" Lynn snarked. "So, _now_ , what do we do?!"

"You go inside and tell the others Lisa hasn't seen Clyde! I'll be in as soon as I can!"

"Where are _you_ going?!"

"Up to my shack!"

"What the _hell_ for?!"

"Because when I _left_ , yesterday, I _shut the door!_ "

Lynn did as she was told, while Lincoln, slowly, made his way to his shack. The dog handler called the others back into the rec-room and explained the situation. A few of them didn't believe her, but, luckily, she was able to show them Lincoln walking outside through the window.

Unfortunately, Lincoln had been gone longer than expected. This made Ronnie Anne, and the others, paranoid. "How long has he been _out there?_ "

"Uh, about _forty-five minutes_." Penelope responded.

"We better start nailing the doors and windows shut." The group followed Ronnie Anne to the supply room, where they gathered up the supplies they'd need to barricade the building's entryways.

Leni was just about to start on the North exit when she glanced out the window. "Oh, em _gosh!_ You guys! Everyone _come here!_ " She opened the door and Clyde collapsed onto the ground, shaking furiously.

"Where's Lincoln?" Lynn asked as she quickly shut the door.

"I cut him _loose_ at the guyline out by his shack!" He shuddered.

"Cut him _loose?!_ " Ronnie Anne was horrified. "Why would you _do_ that?! He's your _best friend!_ He just had us _looking for you!_ "

"I-I was in the lab trying to come up w-with a _t-test_." He tried to explain while still shivering. "Something _ran past_ me when the lights went out. Against my _b-better judgement_ , I _followed it_ outside into Lincoln's shack. I-I _found this!_ " He unzipped his jacket and handed a torn piece of cloth to Leni. "It was _stashed_ in his _furnace!_ I hid out there to see if he'd come _back_ so that I could get the _drop_ on him. I _chickened out_ at the last second, but I made sure I got _ahead_ of him on the way _back!_ "

"L-Linky?" Leni whimpered, fearing she'd lost her only brother to the monster.

"He's _one_ of them!" Clyde confirmed.

"Shit! When do you think it _got to him?_ " Penelope asked, nervously.

"Coulda been _anytime_ … _anywhere_ …" Liam muttered.

"If it _did_ get to him…" Ronnie Anne eyed the African man, suspiciously.

"Hey, _look_ , Anne! C'mon!"

Suddenly, the doorknob started to twist, making everyone lurch away from it. Liam and Ronnie Anne held their flamethrowers at the door, waiting for something to happen.

"Let's _open it!_ " Liam whispered.

" _Hell no!_ " Ronnie Anne snapped.

"Do you think he's turned into one of those _things?_ " Leni asked, shakily.

"He's had _plenty of time!_ " Penelope agreed.

"Nothing _human_ could've made it back in this weather without a _guyline._ " Anne thought out loud.

"Let's _open it, now!_ " Liam said, again.

"Why are _you_ so goddamn anxious to let him _in here?!_ " Ronnie Anne pointed her weapon at the redneck.

"'Cause it's _so close!_ Maybe our best chance ta _blow it away!_ "

"No! Just let him _freeze to death_ outside!"

" _Ronnie!_ " Leni begged. "What if we're _wrong_ about him?!"

"What makes you think we're _wrong?!"_ Suddenly, there was a loud crash that came from a room down the hall.

"The _supply window!_ " Lynn surmised. "Alright! _Alright!_ We've got _no choice now!_ "

The group rushed to the supply room, ready to face whatever monster was waiting for them.

 **Author's note: A guest review has recently requested that one of the future chapters of this fic be based off of the** _ **Saw**_ **franchise. Now, I have my own ideas for future chapters as well as a possible spin-off, but I've actually never seen any of the** _ **Saw**_ **movies. But, if you guys would like to see one in the future, we'll put it to a vote. All in favor, leave a review that says 'AYE' all opposed, 'NAY'. If you have your own suggestions, please let me know the same way.**


	8. The Thing Part 4

Ronnie Anne gripped the doorknob to the supply room, but it wouldn't open.

" _Dammit!_ " She cursed. " _He's_ got the keys!" She went a little further down the hall and came back with a fire axe. She started to hack at the wood around the doorknob, trying to break it loose. "You're a _dead man_ , Lincoln!" She swore. "Or _whatever_ the hell you are!" At last the door gave way, and she kicked it open.

Lincoln was standing right in front of the group, covered in frost and very angry. He had lit an emergency flare before the door opened, and was holding the flame dangerously close to a stick of dynamite. "Anybody _touches me_ and the _whole camp goes_ …" He seethed. "Go _ahead_ , Santiago, _torch me_." Nobody moved; they weren't stupid enough to attack him right now. "Put those torches on the floor and _back off!_ "

Reluctantly, Ronnie Anne and Liam did as they were told. "Now, _back off! Way off!_ " Lincoln snapped. Ronnie and Liam glared, angrily, as the white-haired man stepped out from the supply room. "You _bitch!_ " He muttered.

"You would've done the _same thing_." Ronnie Anne replied, coldly.

"Don't _argue_ with him." Liam said.

"Alright…" Lincoln slowly knelt down to strap the flamethrower to his back. "Everybody in the _rec-room_. From now on, _nobody_ gets outta my _sight_."

Twenty minutes later, Lincoln was starting to regain his body heat as he pointed the flamethrower around the room. No one would dare make a move against him, considering he was still holding the dynamite. Clyde explained what he found and why the group reacted the way they did.

"So, you guy's decided to have yourselves a little _lynching party_ , huh?" Lincoln chuckled, sardonically. "Well, did it ever occur to this fucking _kangaroo court_ that maybe somebody was trying to _incriminate me_ by ripping up _some of my clothes_ and shoving them up the _furnace?!_ "

"We ain't _buying_ that!" Ronnie Anne snapped, prompting Lincoln to prod her with the end of the nozzle. She stepped back, slightly. "You've gotta sleep _sometime_ , Loud."

"Yeah? Well, I'm a _real_ light sleeper, Santiago. Anyone tries to _wake me_ … and we _go_." At last, Lincoln had warmed up enough to think properly. "Okay… I've got an idea for a _test_. But first, everyone follow _me_ as we lock up Santiago in the _garage_."

"What _for?!_ "

"For your _health_." Lincoln snorted and pushed her out the door. Everyone did as they were told; following the two outside until Lincoln pushed Anne into the garage. "We'll see you _later_." He promised, half-heartedly, as she flipped him off. He latched the door so that she couldn't get out and turned to the others. "Clyde, go _untie_ Rusty and Haiku… we're gonna give my test a _try._ "

When Clyde finished his instructions, Lincoln put the dynamite on the table next to him and ordered everyone to stand in a row. "What do you have in _mind_ , Linc?" His friend asked.

"Okay, me and Clyde found a metal plate inside the storage room. He said it was in Zach's _arm_ to fix his bones. Gave me the idea that maybe this thing can't imitate stuff that's not _alive_. And so, it _pushes_ that stuff _out of it_ when it takes you over."

"Well, how does _that_ help us?" Rusty crossed his arms, indignantly.

"Lynn, give me your _flashlight_." Lynn patted around her pockets until she found what he wanted. She gave the light to him, and he stepped in front of their older sister. "Now, Leni… I need you to _open_ your _mouth._ "

"What?" Leni was confused, as everyone else was.

"Just _do it_." He ordered. After a brief moment of hesitation, Leni opened her mouth as wide as she could. She tilted her head back as Lincoln shone the light inside, spotting shiny metal pieces capped over her pearly-whites. At last, he moved the light away, sighing with relief.

"Okay. Leni has _fillings_. So, she's _human_. Look, see?" He shone the light into his own mouth, letting Leni see his own fillings. Leni nodded with a small smile, finally understanding what he was getting at. "Now, put _this on_ and watch _them_." He took off the flamethrower and gave it to her.

Next, they moved on to Lynn. The sporty woman opened her mouth for inspection, showing off her own metal fillings. Lincoln ordered her to put on the second flamethrower and step back, to keep an eye on the others. Leni was still standing close to her brother, ready to protect him if necessary. The others looked skeptical about Lincoln's test. "Hey, for now, it's _something_."

"So, I'm gonna _die_ because my dads made sure I _flossed?_ " Clyde snarked, nervously.

"No one's going to _die_." Lincoln promised. "Just _open_ your mouth."

" _Linc_ …" Clyde pleaded. But Lincoln and Leni wouldn't let up. Clyde finally opened his mouth, showing no metal fillings.

Lincoln sighed. "Just go stand over _there_." Clyde moved away to the other side of the room, with Lynn pointing her weapon at him.

Next was Rusty. "Linc, this is _ridiculous_."

"Just open your mouth!" Leni ordered. With the current situation, she was fully shifted into protective mode for her siblings. Rusty looked at the older woman, then glanced back at Lincoln. "They're _porcelain_." He said, plainly.

"Then go stand with _Clyde_." Lincoln motioned with his head, and Rusty begrudgingly obeyed. "Anybody _else_ have _porcelain fillings?_ Or _clean teeth?_ " No one replied. He moved on to Penelope and Haiku, who graciously opened their mouth without hesitation. Lincoln saw their fillings and moved on to Liam.

"Linc, this ain't _right_." The hick argued, but Leni wasn't having it. She poked him, roughly, with the nozzle. He opened his mouth, showing off his rotten, but un-capped, teeth. Leni shoved him over towards Rusty and Clyde.

"Okay, Haiku, you and Leni go get _Santiago_. We'll give her the test."

"W-why don't we just _leave her_ where she _is?_ " The doctor shivered.

"We have to be _sure_." Lincoln answered.

"C'mon, doc. Let's _go_." Leni beckoned. Despite her overprotectiveness, she figured Lincoln knew what he was doing better than she did. Lynn kept her weapon trained on the others while Leni and Haiku went out into the cold again.

The women struggled against the strong winds as they made their way to the garage. Haiku unbolted the door and Leni stepped inside. But Ronnie Anne was nowhere to be seen. They checked behind the shelves and snowcats, trying to find the mechanic. Suddenly, Haiku noticed a hole in the corner.

"Good _God_." Leni murmured. "We have to _find her!_ " The blonde chef quickly rushed back outside, with the physician in hot pursuit.

"Leni, _wait!_ " Haiku saw her stomping over to Lincoln's shack. "Leni! _Stop! Come back!_ " But just as she opened the door, she was pulled into the shack, startling Haiku.

* * *

Back inside, Lynn and Lincoln did everything they could to keep the suspects back. Rusty tried reasoning with Lynn, but she wouldn't budge. Clyde kept trying to logically prove his innocence to Lincoln, but his friend wasn't listening. Everyone was arguing with everyone else.

Suddenly, a loud banging noise came from the main entrance. Lincoln ordered Lynn to stay with them while he went to investigate. Liam tried to take advantage of the distraction, but Lynn stopped him just in time.

Lincoln hesitated at first, thinking maybe one of the things had gotten to his sister and friends. But his conscience made him open the door. Haiku stumbled inside, screaming at the top of her lungs as she tried to stand up. "Oh, _God!_ Oh, dear _God!_ Oh, _Jesus!_ Oh, _Christ!_ "

"Haiku! Haiku, _stop! Breathe!_ " Lincoln tried to calm her down. "What _happened?_ Where's _Leni?_ "

"She-! She _took_ her!" The doctor spluttered. " _Ronnie Anne took her! LYNN!_ " Haiku rushed into the rec-room, where the dog handler was still keeping the others captive. "Lynn! She took _Leni!_ She took your _sister!_ "

"What?!" Lynn screeched.

"Lynn, _stay on them!_ " Lincoln ordered, seeing that the suspects were also growing antsy.

"Lynn, she took _Leni!_ " Rusty yelled.

"Go _git 'er_ , Lynn!" Liam backed him up.

"No! _Stay on them_ , Lynn!" Lincoln shouted.

Lynn didn't know what to do. Her head told her to stay and watch the others, but her heart told her to go save her sister. The yelling went on for what felt like an eternity, as the tension got worse and worse.

 _CRASH!_

Everyone turned their head to the source of the noise. "She's _inside_." Clyde whimpered. Lynn rushed out of the room, with Liam, Rusty, and Lincoln close behind. She rounded the corner, and saw Ronnie Anne holding a rifle from Lincoln's shack, aiming at her.

"Where's _Leni?!_ " She aimed her flamethrower at the mechanic. "Where is _Leni?!_ "

"Drop it!" Anne ordered. She was in no mood to be taking orders. "Drop it _right now!_ "

" _Where the fuck is Leni?!_ "

"Lynn, _blast her!_ " Liam shouted. "She _killed_ Leni!" The redneck stepped out from behind the corner and caught a bullet in the stomach. Lynn looked down in horror as Liam fell to the ground. She dropped the nozzle and held her ear to his mouth.

"He's not _breathing!_

"Rusty, Lynn, pick him up and bring him to Haiku!" Lincoln thought, quickly. "I'll keep an _eye_ on Santiago." Anne sneered at that comment as she held the gun, tighter.

Rusty and Lynn picked Liam up and dragged him to the rec-room. Haiku acted quickly, ripping open Liam's shirt and striking it once with her fist to instigate a reaction. When that didn't work, she ordered Penelope to wheel the defibrillator over to her.

"You _asshole_." Ronnie Anne sneered at Lincoln.

"You would've done the _same thing._ " Lincoln retorted.

"Quit that _bickering!_ " Haiku ordered. " _Clear!_ " She gave Liam a jolt, but nothing happened. " _Clear!_ " She tried again, this time his arm moved, slightly. "Okay, _one more time_ … _clear!_ " She pushed her arms down onto his chest again, and it split open into a giant mouth that bit her hands off.

Haiku's blood-curdling screams filled the entire facility until she collapsed from the blood loss. Liam's arms separated themselves from the rest of his body and attacked Penelope. The arms transformed into insect-like animals that latched themselves onto victims. Penelope screamed in terror as the monster bit into her neck.

Clyde tried to push Lincoln and Lynn to cover, but didn't make time for himself. Liam's body started to spasm out of control, until a long tendril ripped out of his chest cavity and struck Clyde in the chest. Lincoln pulled his friend behind the couch.

Rusty, meanwhile, had tried to escape, but Liam's body suddenly lurched back to life and bit his ankle. Rusty fell to the ground, recoiling in agony. Liam's body opened it's mouth wide, uttering the same inhuman scream that Zach and the dog did. It sprouted four more legs and started to crawl towards Rusty.

Rusty tried to crawl away, but the thing was too fast. It managed to get on top of him, ignoring his cries of pain as it absorbed him. "Someone _burn it!_ " He yelled out in desperation. Ronnie Anne tried to use her gun, but it was no use.

"Lynn, _burn it!_ " She and Lincoln ordered the brunette. But something was wrong with her flamethrower; and it wouldn't fire. " _Burn it_ , Lynn! _Torch it!_ " Lynn adjusted the nozzle and twisted the tank's valves open a little more. That did the trick. Flames engulfed the aliens, making them shriek, fiercely. Then, she turned to Penelope and put her out of her misery.

Then, she saw Lincoln kneeling next to Clyde. Clyde was breathing heavy, unable to talk as Lincoln held his hand, tight. "It'll be _okay_ , Clyde… I'm _here_ for you, buddy..." Lincoln looked at his older sister and, with a heavy heart, stepped out of her way so she could end his pain.

Ronnie Anne noticed that her gun was empty, so she threw it on the floor. The Loud siblings and Clyde looked at her, suspiciously. "Alright…" She motioned with her hands. "Who's _first?_ "

"Open your _mouth_." Lynn pointed the flamethrower at her.

"... _what?_ " Anne shook her head, confused.

"God _damn it_ , Anne, will you _just fucking open your mouth?!_ " Lincoln's tone made it evident that he was in no mood to be trifled with. Anne opened her mouth, and the two Louds saw her fillings.

* * *

A while later, Ronnie Anne had just finished putting on her own flamethrower when Lincoln appeared in the doorway. "Anne… where's _Leni?_ "

"I didn't _kill_ her." She promised. "She's asleep in your shack."

"Okay… me and Lynn are going to go give Lisa the test. If she tries to make it back here and we're not _with her_ , burn her."

"Right."

Lincoln and Lynn found themselves fighting against the storm once again as they held tightly to the guyline. But just as Lincoln could see the light in front of the shed, Lynn yelled back to him. "Hey, Linc! The _door's_ open!"


	9. The Thing Part 5

Lincoln and Lynn entered the toolshed, shocked to see that Lisa wasn't inside. "How'd she _get out?!_ " Lynn yelled. "The door was _bolted_ from the _outside!_ "

Lincoln took another step forward, and the floorboard beneath him bowed under his weight. He and his sister shared a glance and they kneeled down to pull up the loose wood. They found a stairway carved out of the ice. Cautiously, the two Louds climbed down the cavern, noticing it had been carved with bare hands.

"Lisa… _no_." Lincoln muttered. When this was all over, anyone could do their best to convince him otherwise, but he knew it was his fault that the thing got his little sister. When they reached the bottom of the steps, they found piles of tools scattered around a mechanical saucer.

"What is _this?_ " Lynn held her flare close to the object. "A _ship_ of some kind?"

" _Looks_ like it." Lincoln answered. "Made from pieces of the _helicopter_."

"Where was she trying to _go?_ "

"Any place but _here._ "

The duo decided it would be best to head back up and destroy the ship before continuing the search for Lisa. While Lincoln prepared the dynamite, Lynn kept watch out the door. She glanced back at the main entrance, where she saw someone in a heavy snow coat stumbling out of the doorway, carrying a flamethrower on their back.

"Hey, Linc! Come here!" She beckoned. When she turned her head, the person was running out into the storm. "I think I saw _Santiago_ running out of the camp!"

"What the hell's she doing _outside?_ " Suddenly, there was a loud bang, and the lights surrounding the camp went dark. Lincoln lit another flare and spoke to his sister. "It got back _inside_ and blew the _generator._ In six hours it'll be a _hundred below_ in here."

"That's _suicide._ " Lynn spluttered.

"Not for _that_ thing." Lincoln said, gravely. "It's got no way _outta here_ , now. It _wants_ to freeze. It just wants to go to _sleep_ in the ice until the _rescue team_ finds it."

"What do we _do?_ " Lynn was shaking from fear. "What do we _do?!_ "

"Lynn, if that thing gets _outta here_ , that means _Lori, Leni, Luna, Luan, Lucy, Lola, Lana,_ and _Lily_ are going to _die_. Whether or not we make it outta this _ourselves_ , we can't let it _freeze_ again."

Lynn nodded in agreement. "Okay… what do we _do?_ "

"Well, if this thing likes the _cold_ …" Lincoln poured out two of his whiskey bottles and filled them with kerosene, sticking a dry towel in the top. "Whaddaya say we _heat things up?_ "

Lynn went room to room, pouring gasoline on the ground. Lincoln followed close behind, throwing the molotov cocktails onto the fuel, saving the dynamite for when they went downstairs. The campsite slowly flared up as they reached the final stairway. They made their way down to the generator room, and saw that the machine was completely demolished beyond all repair.

"Okay, we gotta bring this _whole place_ down to the _ice_. I'll spread them out _this way_ , you go _that way_ , and then we'll meet up and take care of the _garage_ and my _shack_."

Lynn wasted no time. She uncoiled the wired connected to the T.N.T. and slowly spread it out along the basement floor. But just as she finished, her headlamp went out. Muttering angrily, she took it off and hit it against her palm.

When it finally turned on, Lisa appeared right in front of her. Lynn tried to scream, but Lisa placed her hand over her mouth, digging her fingers under the older woman's flesh. Lynn was losing oxygen as the thing's fingers crawled all the way to the back of her head.

Lincoln had just finished his end and was waiting for Lynn to come back. "How's it _coming_ down there?!" He called. No answer. "I said how's it-" He lost his voice before he could finish. The basement was now deathly quite, something he was never used to growing up. To him, that could only mean he was now completely alone.

He took out one last piece of dynamite and lit the fuse. Just then, the floor cracked open as something underground made it's way over to the dynamite plunger. Lincoln jumped out of the way just in time to see the plunger be dragged into the crack.

A hideous monster that appeared to be made out of pieces of the entire crew of Outpost 31 emerged from the ground. Lincoln ran to the exit, preparing to throw the explosive at the monster that killed his friends and family. The thing roared, violently, as it slowly crawled towards him.

"Yeah, _fuck you_ , _too!_ " Lincoln snapped as he threw the weapon.

The thing's painful shrieking echoed throughout the campgrounds as the explosions destroyed the outpost.

Lincoln lifted himself out of the cold snow, taking advantage of the flames surrounding him. He stumbled over to a secure area and took out his last bottle of whiskey. Wrapping a blanket around himself, he was just about to close his eyes, he heard someone walk up behind him. Ronnie Anne Santiago looked down at him with a grim expression.

"Are _you_ the only one that _made it?_ " She asked.

"Obviously _not_." Lincoln retorted.

"Did you _kill_ it?"

"Where _were you_ , Anne?"

"I thought I saw _Lisa_ …" She explained as she sat down. "I went out _after her_. Got _lost_ in the storm… this _fire's_ raised the temperature all over _camp_ … won't last _long_ , though."

"Neither will _we_."

"How will we _make it?_ "

"Maybe we _shouldn't_."

Ronnie Anne sighed. "If you're _worried_ about _me-_ "

"Even if we _did_ have any surprises for each other, I don't think we're in much shape to _do_ anything about it."

"So… what do we _do?_ "

Lincoln offered her his bottle. The Hispanic woman took it, graciously, and took a swig. " _Good idea…_ " She smiled. But her smile disappeared at the sound of Lincoln chuckling. "What?"

"Well, _y'see_ …" Lincoln took removed the blanket, revealing a flamethrower. "I used all my _whiskey bottles_ to make molotovs. But I guess an _alien_ wouldn't know what _gasoline_ tastes like.

Ronnie Anne looked at the bottle in horror, then back at her friend, "W- _wait!_ L-let's just _talk_ about this…" Lincoln aimed the nozzle at her. "Linc… _Linc!_ " Ronnie Anne was completely backed into a corner, unable to run away. " _NOOOOOOO!_ "

Lincoln bathed the woman in flames, making her screech a familiar inhuman scream, confirming his suspicion. Unfortunately, the fuel tanks ran out before he was finished, and a tendril shot out of the flames, stabbing his chest. The thing shriveled up in the flames, but Lincoln just slumped back to the ground, unable to move, breathe, or see.

* * *

 **(...)**

 **Starring Lincoln Loud**

 **(...)**

After the storm had cleared, _S.S. McMyrtle_ had sent a helicopter to Outpost 31 to see why they hadn't called in. Luna Loud, the second pilot, saw the smoke climbing up into the air from the ruined campsite. As she landed, it looked like the garage and a private shack were all that was left.

She landed the helicopter and began to inspect the ruins. "Hello?!" She called. "Hello?! Lincoln?! Leni?! Lynn?! Lisa?! _Anybody?!_ Hello?!"

* * *

 **(...)**

 **Ronnie Anne Santiago**

 **(...)**

Luna was so preoccupied with her search, she didn't notice someone had woken up in the shack and was now aiming a rifle at her. The bullets didn't hit her, but the sudden sound of gunfire made the music-lover jump out of her skin. "Wait! _Stop!_ Don't _shoot!_ It's _me, Luna!_ "

Leni kicked open the door, keeping her rifle aimed at her younger sister. Luna was shocked. What could've happened here that made her sweetest sister shoot at her. As Leni got closer, Luna noticed a large welt on her forehead.

"Leni! _Stop!_ What're you _doing?!_ "

"Open your _mouth!_ " Leni ordered.

"What?"

" _Open your mouth!_ " Leni looked as if she were on the verge of tears as she prodded Luna with the gun. This time, Luna did as she was told, letting her sister inspect her mouth. Leni sighed in relief at the sight of Luna's fillings.

* * *

 **(...)**

 **Leni Loud**

 **Lynn Loud**

 **Lisa Loud**

 **Luna Loud**

 **(...)**

"Leni, what _happened here?_ What's going _on?_ "

Leni was about to answer when a familiar white-haired man burst out of the garage, riding a snowmobile that almost ran over the women. "What the _hell_ , Linc?!" Luna snapped. Leni, however, looked terrified. The bump on her head made it much harder than it usually was for her, but she remembered the monsters that had destroyed their camp, and what they acted like.

She aimed the rifle at the Lincoln's head and fired a direct shot. But he wasn't affected.

"That's _not_ Lincoln!" Leni shuddered.

"Wh- _what?_ " Luna was confused. She couldn't believe that Leni shot their brother, nor that he didn't seem to be harmed by a headshot.

"Start the helicopter!" Leni ordered. " _Now! Now!_ "

In no time, Leni and Luna were flying high, following Lincoln through the icy tundra. While Luna got them close enough, Leni leaned out of the side, trying to stop the imposter before it could reach another base.

* * *

 **(...)**

 **Rusty Spokes**

 **Clyde McBride**

 **Liam**

 **Zach**

 **Haiku**

 **Penelope**

 **(...)**


	10. Loud Destination Part 1

It was a joyous autumn afternoon in Royal Woods, Michigan. The Loud family piled into vanzilla, heading towards the train station. When the oldest sister, Lori, came home for Fall Break from college, their parents decided it would be fun to take a trip to Chicago on a train.

Lucy, the silent poet of the family, felt uncomfortable from all the pushing and shoving inside the bustling station. At last they reached the ticket window, and Rita reached into her purse. "Oh, _shoot!_ " She cursed. "Lynn, I can't find two of the tickets. You take the _rest_ , and just get _everyone else_ onboard. Lily and I will _catch up_."

"Alright, honey. Just _be careful, now_." Lynn Sr. handed the infant over to his wife and ordered the rest of his children onto the train.

"Alright!" Lincoln exclaimed in excitement. "Chicago, here we _come!_ "

"This is gonna be _awesome_ , dudes!" Luna agreed with him.

"Yeah! Especially since we've been _train-ing_ for this our whole lives!" Luan joked. "Ha ha ha! Get it?" Everyone just groaned.

As the other passengers finished getting on, Lynn Sr. got a call from Rita saying that she would just have to wait and buy a ticket for the next train. The kids were upset that their mother wouldn't be with them for the train ride, but instead, they focused on meeting her in Chicago and finished loading their suitcases.

Lucy had just finished packing away her backpack and went on to take her seat next to her sister, Lynn. As she sat down, her father went on to do a headcount, and a chill ran up her spine. Normally, she would have welcomed the sensation with open arms, but this one was different. It wasn't the kind of chills that she derived comfort from, it felt foreboding; as if something was trying to warn her.

"Okay, I have a _better_ one! How does a train eat it's food?" Luan giggled. "It _choo-chews_ and swallows it! Ha ha ha! Get it?"

Lynn and Lucy groaned in annoyance. Lucy glanced over to see the rest of her siblings putting away their bags. Lincoln reached for the handle, but it broke off after a small tug. Lynn laughed at his expense, unaware that she was leaning over her sister.

"Hey, dudes!" Luna ran down the trains walkway with a huge grin plastered over her face. "You'll never guess what they're gonna play over the radio!" Just as she finished that sentence, _Crazy Train_ by Ozzy Osbourne came echoed through the cab. " _Rock on!_ " Luna said, doing her best British impression.

" _Sigh_ …" Lucy said, and sat down in her seat.

At last, the train started to move forward. Most of the Loud kids cheered, only to be shushed by the other passengers. Lucy decided to pass the time by looking out the window, watching the trees pass as they went. In that moment, she felt inspiration for a new poem, and reached for her notebook and pen. But in her eagerness, she was being a bit careless and gave herself a papercut. "Ow." She exclaimed, quietly. She sucked on her thumb to ease the slight pain, when suddenly, the entire coach lurched.

The train's engine had derailed, making the coaches crash into each other. Lynn Sr. instinctively got up to make sure his kids were safe, but the coach they were on tilted over the edge of mountain. The patriarch of the Loud House lost his balance, stumbling through the window and falling to his doom.

Everyone was screaming in terror as the train was still moving forward. Leni tried to help her family, but a panicked passenger shoved her aside, making the fashionista fall onto the broken glass of the window. Lori, tearfully, helped her sister off of the broken window, only to find that the shards of glass had cut deep into her throat.

Another coach crashed into them again, causing Luan to fall over onto the floor. The other passengers took no notice of her as they crushed her underneath them. Lori took charge, ordering her siblings to head to the back of the coach and try to climb out through the window. Most of them managed to follow her, but Lisa, Lola, and Lana had been cut off when the luggage racks opened up, spilling their contents all over the youngest Louds.

Lori smashed the window open with her rhinestone purse, and proceeded to help the others climb out. The first two out were Lucy and Lincoln, then Lynn and Luna, and finally, Lori began to climb out, herself. But just as she was halfway out, the coaches crashed together again, making the oldest sister fly back inside and crush her spine from the impact.

Luna and her younger siblings held onto the coach as hard as they could. But at last, the engine stopped, making the coaches crash into each other once again. One of the brake cables snapped, flinging around the coach's cabin and slicing off Luna's jaw. The cable wrapped around Lynn's leg, dragging the sporty girl under the rails.

It was all down to Lincoln and Lucy, now. The surviving Louds steeled their nerves and jumped down the ravine. They managed to land on a softer patch of dirt, but they were now tumbling, uncontrollably, down the slope. Lucy closed her eyes, hoping that when it came it would come painlessly. But when the duo reached the bottom, she felt every part of her lower vertebrae crumble when she hit the rock.

Gathering up all of her strength, she looked over to see that her brother hadn't been so lucky. His head had hit the rocks, dead-on, killing him, instantly. Tears welled up in Lucy's eyes as she wondered why this was happening to her and her family. A splendid trip to Chicago had turned into a frightening bloodbath. The goth girl had always known death would come, but she didn't expect it when she was still only a child.

Lucy looked back up the ravine, seeing that the derailed train was now leaning towards her. Her eyes widened from terror as the coaches tumbled down the mountain, screeching from the metal digging into the rock.

Lucy screamed and closed her eyes, tight.

* * *

"Lucy? You _okay_ , sweetie?" Lynn Sr. shook the dark girl out of her trance. The nine-year-old goth looked shocked to see that her father was alive and well. She frantically looked around her, noticing that everyone in her family was still alive. Was it possible she had just imagined it?

"Okay, I have a _better_ one! How does a train eat it's food?" Luan giggled.

"It _choo-chews_ and swallows it." Lucy stammered.

"Aw, I _told you_ that one, already?" Luan sounded disappointed.

Lucy ignored her sister's despondent tone and turned to Lincoln. Before her only brother could open the compartment for his suitcase, she rushed in front of him and pulled at the handle, herself. Much to her horror, it broke just like before. "Lucy, is something _wrong?_ " Lincoln asked.

"Hey, dudes!" Luna ran down the trains walkway, again, with the same huge grin plastered over her face; the same one Lucy saw before. "You'll never guess what they're gonna play over the radio!"

" _Crazy Train…_ " Lucy's voice broke, just as the metal song played over the intercom.

Lucy brushed her bangs out from her face, exposing the frightened look in her eyes to the rest of her family. On impulse, Lynn took this unorthodox action as her cue to help her little sister. " _Hey_ , roomie. What's the _matter?_ " Everyone else gathered around the two girls, offering to help in any way they could.

"We need to get _off_ of this _train…_ " Lucy had now completely abandoned her signature monotone voice.

"What? _Why?_ "

"We need to get _off_ this train, _right now!_ " She started to push her way past the crowd, pulling her family with her. "The train is going to _derail!_ Everyone's going to _die!_ We need to get _off_ this _train!_ "

"Hey, _watch it!_ " Lola shoved her sister in retaliation. Unfortunately, she also accidentally elbowed her twin in the face, leading to a brawl between the two. Lori and Leni tried to break it up, but the added confusion only made it worse. At last, one of the train's inspectors came to ask the family to exit the train.

Safe to say, the Loud family was very upset over this. When the entire family was off the train, the conductor gave the signal, and the train set off.

"I thought I told you all to go _ahead_." Rita had just caught up with them.

"It was all _Lucy's_ fault!" Lola accused. "She _hit me!_ "

"Seriously? We lost our vacation in Chicago because the _Duchess_ of _Darkness_ lost her cool?" Lynn was equally aggravated.

"Okay, that's _enough!_ " Rita ordered, and kneeled down next to her nine-year-old daughter. "Now, Lucy, tell us what _happened_."

"I-I _saw it!_ " Lucy was still overwhelmed. " _Blood_ was _everywhere!_ People were _dying!_ _All_ of us! We need to _stop_ that train! Everyone _else_ is going to die!"

"Oh, _please!_ " Lori scoffed. "Mom, Dad, don't _listen_ to her. She's, _literally_ , just trying to draw _attention_ to herself. 'Ooh, it's gonna _crash!_ It's gonna _crash!_ ' Yeah, _right!_ "

Suddenly, a deafening explosion drew everyone's attention. A collection of horrified screams filled the station at the sight of the train coming off the rails. Some of the debris was thrown from the crash site, landing on the platform. One piece of the train managed to hit Lynn Sr. in the heart, killing him. Rita dropped to her knees, crying out for someone to help her husband.

* * *

A week had passed, and the Loud siblings found themselves in a dismal funeral home, mourning for their father. Lori and Leni tried to comfort Rita and Lily, Luan and Lisa were mingling with their father's friends, trying to occupy their minds with something else. The others just tried to help each other in any way they could.

Meanwhile, Lucy was sitting in the corner, as she usually did. But this time, it wasn't so that she could work on her poems, or to read the latest novel about vampires; it was to ponder her vision. If she told her family about it, they wouldn't believe her, but she knew it was no coincident. She had seen that everyone would die, and she thought she had saved them. But then why did her father end up dying anyway?

Lucy was shaken out of her thoughts when she sensed a presence sitting next to her. She looked up to see a tall, African American man in a neat suit. His nametag read: "William Bludworth. Coroner." The man gazed past Lucy's bangs, piercing her eyes. Lucy felt as though he was staring right into her very soul.

" _Death_ does not like to be _cheated_." He said, at last.

"I… I'm _sorry_?" Lucy stammered.

"This guy _bothering you_ , Luce Change?" Luna stepped up, followed by Lincoln and Lynn.

"I meant no _harm_." He assured them. He rose from his seat, preparing to leave, but stopped to look at them one last time. The smile on his face made the four Louds shudder. "You all… just be _careful_ , now."

 **(...)**

 **FLASHFAN123 Presents**

 **(...)**

 **Loud Destination**

 **Author's note: For those of you who have seen both the Loud House** _ **and**_ **Final Destination, was it** _ **any doubt**_ **that Lucy would be the** _ **lead**_ **in this chapter?**


	11. Loud Destination Part 2

After the funeral, Lucy Loud went upstairs, past her bedroom, and crawled into the house's air vents. Whenever she felt upset, her 'secret dark place' always offered her comfort. But this time, it was worse than just being ridiculed by her peers for her dark personality. She had seen her entire family die right in front of her, only for it to have all been an illusion.

But everything she had seen was starting to come true, up until she forced her family off of the train. The train did end up crashing, but this time, only her father died. The rest of her family had praised her for predicting the tragedy, Lana and Leni even hailed her as a hero. But she didn't feel like a hero. Her father was still dead.

"Death _does not like to be_ cheated _."_

The little poet kept thinking about the coroner's strange warning. His voice was as smooth as molasses, but at the same time, it was also frightening and foreboding. What did it mean?

"Kids! Time for _bed!_ " Rita's voice called from downstairs.

As per usual, the kids obeyed their mother's orders and went to bed. But Leni couldn't sleep. Witnessing her father's death had taken a serious toll on her mind. Without waking up Lori, she crept out of her room and made her way into the kitchen, deciding that one of her smoothies would help.

She shut the door to the kitchen so that the noise wouldn't wake up anyone else. She reached for the blender and cutting board on the top shelf. Then, she got strawberries, peaches, milk, and yogurt out of the fridge. But she was being rather careless and didn't notice that she knocked over a bottle of water, spilling the contents on the floor.

She poured the milk, strawberries, and yogurt into the blender, and then started chopping the peaches into small bits. She scraped the peaches into the blender, accidentally putting a pit in, as well. She turned on the blender and started wiping off the knife with a dish towel.

After a few minutes, she set the knife down, with the towel still wrapped around it, and turned off the blender. She poured the smoothie into a tall glass and took a long sip. Yawning a bit, and thinking that it was working, she chugged the rest of the fruity liquid down. Unfortunately, she also swallowed the pit, which got stuck in her throat.

Leni grabbed and scratched at her neck, gagging and choking on the pit. She stumbled to the door, thinking that if she could get to her mother's room, and she could save her. But on her way to the door, she slipped on the water and fell to the ground. She tried to grab something to help pull herself up, and for a moment, she thought she had. But it was the towel.

She yanked it down, making the knife pierce her wrist. Leni's eyes became bloodshot as her breaths became weaker. Everything went dark, and the last thing she could think of was; _"I wish I had said goodbye…"_

The next morning, Lynn's screams shook the very foundation of the Loud House. She always woke up earlier than everyone else to go jogging in the morning, and all she wanted from the kitchen was a quick drink of water. Instead, she ended up waking her entire family.

"Mom!" She backed against the kitchen wall, crying as she slid down to the floor. "MOOOOOOOOM! LENI'S _DEAD!_ _Mom! Lori! Anybody!_ "

Lori and Lincoln were the first to reach her. Lincoln froze in place at the sight of his big sister's body. When he started to cry, Lynn got up and hugged him, tightly. Lori had pulled the knife out of Leni's wrist and checked for a heartbeat. When she didn't hear anything, her dam broke, too, and started crying.

Rita and Luna were the next ones to enter. "Oh, my _God!_ " The rocker cried.

"Lori! Call an _ambulance!_ " Rita ordered.

"I'm _on it!_ " Lori was so distraught, she didn't even add one of her signature 'literallys' to her sentence.

Lucy finally got to the doorway, and when she saw Leni, a new wave of fear flushed over her body. She turned away from the kitchen and saw Lola, Lana, and Lisa rushing downstairs. She stopped them just in time.

When the paramedics arrived, they put Leni's body on a stretcher and took her to the hospital. Luna, Luan, and Lincoln comforted Rita while Lori and Lynn took care of the younger sisters.

"This is, _literally,_ all _my_ fault…" Lori sobbed.

"No, Lori…" Lynn patted her shoulder, calming down a bit. "There's _no way_ this is your fault."

" _Yes_ , it _is!_ " Lori cried. "I-if _only_ … I _paid more attention_ to her...sh-she would've gotten _h-help_ … and she wouldn't have…" She didn't finish, she just let her sister's hug her.

Lucy, however, was sitting on the staircase, deep in thought. In her vision on the train, Leni died after their father. Now, one week after he had died, Leni commits suicide? It didn't sound right. She needed answers, and she knew where to get them.

Later that night, Lucy confronted her brother in his room. He was still a little shaken up about the situation. "Lincoln…?" The surprised look on his face reminded her that she had abandoned her usual monotone voice. Now, she sounded like a normal, frightened little girl. "Lincoln, I need your _help_."

"Okay…" Lincoln wiped his eyes. "W-with _what_ , Lucy?"

"I need to go to the _mortuary,_ tonight. I need to speak with that _coroner_. He _knows_ something."

"I don't _understand_."

"Understand _what?_ "

Lucy turned around, face-to-face with Lynn, Luna, and Lori. She realized that if they were ever going to help her, she needed to tell them the truth. "W-when I warned you about the _train_ , I _saw it_. I don't know _how_ , and I don't know _why_ , but I _saw_ it. I saw _each_ of you die _before me_. That _coroner_ at the funeral home said something that made me think he _knows_ something about it… can we go _see_ him? Please?"

Lori looked at Luna, Luna looked at Lynn, and Lynn looked at Lincoln. Their expressions were a mixture of confusion, skepticism, and disbelief. But, eventually, Lori went into her old room and came back with the keys to Vanzilla. "I _did_ say I wanted to do something with you guys before going back to college." She sighed.

* * *

Lucy led the group to the back of the funeral home, where they found a small window to the morgue. The neon lights shone brightly onto the clean, marble floor. Lucy was most familiar with the inner workings of a mortuary, so she took the lead. When they finally found the right room, they saw Leni, lying on a cold steel table.

The girl's clothes were laying on chair in the corner, a white sheet covering her naked body. Lucy saw multiple tools and realized that they had just walked into the middle of an autopsy. But where was the coroner?

"Oh, _God_ …" Luna grieved as she stroked her big sister's forehead. "She looks so _peaceful_."

"We're really gonna _miss you_ , Leni." Lincoln cried.

Suddenly, Leni's body sat up on its own. Lori and Luna screamed and held each other. Lincoln jumped into Lynn's arm, both of them screaming at the top of their lungs. Lucy recoiled from the table and backed into a shelf that knocked over a book. But instead of hitting the ground, someone's hand reached out and caught it. It was the coroner. The five Louds screamed in terror, once again.

" _Shhh… please,_ you'll _wake_ the dead." He spoke, softly. His cold, smooth voice managed to calm their nerves as he moved towards the table. He gently pushed Leni's body back down and covered her with the sheet again, unfazed by the sight of her exposed breasts. As he reached for a needle and spool of thread, Lucy, bravely, stepped forward.

"Um, _excuse me_ , w-we're her _family_. My name is _Lucy Loud_ and I just wanted to-"

"I _know_ who you _are_ , Lucille." He replied, sewing the surgical cuts on Leni's body shut. "And _why_ you've come here. But I'm afraid you're going to leave _most disappointed._ " Lucy's mouth shut as she stepped backwards.

"Why'd she _sit up_ like that?" Luna piped up, trying to clear the air.

" _Chemicals_ in the vascular flush create _cadaveric spasms_." The coroner explained. "Don't worry, once _rigor mortis_ sets in, it will be _impossible_ for it to happen during the memorial." He chuckled slightly, much to the others' disgust. "We wouldn't want to _startle_ your relatives."

"What are those _marks_ on her neck?" Lincoln asked.

" _Cuticle lacerations._ From scratching at her neck. The autopsy found a _peach pit_ lodged in her throat."

"Lodged in her…?" The gears in Lucy's mind started to turn faster. "She was _choking_. Didn't we see a _spill_ in the kitchen when we found her?" Lori thought for a moment and nodded. "Maybe… maybe the knife _fell_ on her wrist. She _didn't_ do it on purpose. It was an _accident_."

" _Lucille_ …" The coroner shook his head. "In _Death_ , there _are_ no _accidents_. No _coincidences_. No _mishaps._ And no _escapes_ …"

"You sound pretty _sure_ of yourself." Lori crossed her arms, suspiciously.

Lucy rallied her courage again. "At our _father's_ funeral. You _warned_ me. You said _Death_ didn't like to be _cheated_. What did you _mean?_ "

"It's just that I've _seen this_ before." He snipped the thread when he finished a stitch and moved on to another cut. "You have to understand that we are all just the _prey_ of a _cosmic predator_. Every action we make, from the _mundane_ to the _monumental_ , is observed by Death as it waits to _strike_. The _bridges_ we cross. The _planes_ we fly on. The _highways_ we travel. The _roller coasters_ we ride. The _arenas_ we spectate. _No place_ is safe from its prowl."

The group shivered as he stretched the thread out from Leni's wrist. "You see, you _changed things_ when you warned your family to get off that train, Lucille. You _interfered_ with the design. But make no mistake, Death does not take _'no'_ for an answer. It will come for you _all_. _One by one_."

"Are you saying there is _nothing_ we can do to _save ourselves?_ " Lucy gulped.

"Oh, _come one_ , Lucy!" Lori pulled her sister towards her. "Don't let this guy get in your _head_. Let's just _go_." They started to walk out of the room, the coroner spoke up again.

" _Well…_ my _mentor_ , the man who _proceeded_ me at this mortuary. _He_ was one of the _first people_ to witness Death's design… he found a way to _appease_ Death." The Loud's reluctantly turned back to him. "Have any of you ever _wondered_ what it is that compels a person to take another's life? When we _do_ , we take their _place_ in Life. And all the _days_ , and _weeks_ , and _months_ , and _years_ that they have yet to _live_ will be _ours_. And then, they take _our place_ in _Death_."

"We have to _kill_ somebody?" Lynn clenched her stomach.

"But be _warned_... " He concluded as he put away his tools. "There are _severe consequences_ to _cheating Death_. To _disrespecting_ the design. If you risk continuing to _avoid it_ , you may instigate a _fury_ that could frighten even the _Grim Reaper…_ and you don't even wanna _fuck_ with that Mac Daddy!"

The coroner slammed his scalpel down on the table, smirking as the noise made them jump out of their skin. Lincoln clapped his hands together and pulled Lucy towards him. "Well, _okay then_." He stammered. "Uh, well, we're _sorry_ we broke in, and, uh-"

"No _harm_ …" His smile grew wider as they left. "No _foul_." Lucy was the last one out of the room, following close behind Lincoln. She paused for a moment, looking back at the coroner once again. "I'll see you _soon_." He whispered.

* * *

 **Author's notes: Yes, I _did_ reference all FIVE Final Destinations in the coroner's speech!**

 **On a more serious note, the next chapter is based on Saw(due to popular vote) now I have a different election: Should the chapter star Lincoln and his sisters like all the previous chapters, or should I switch it up and have it star Linka and her brothers from "One of the Guys"? Let me know in the reviews!**


	12. Loud Destination Part 3

**Trigger warning: Attempted suicide in this chapter**

Lucy and her siblings rode back to the house, all of them were shaken up by the coroner's story. The idea that Death was, in reality, a living entity that would not stop until it completed its plan sent shivers down Lucy's spine. But she could not accept it. There had to be a way to defeat Death without taking someone else's life. The little goth held her head tight, trying to remember the rest of her vision. She remembered that her father and Leni were the first two to die, which then happened after they got off the train. Which meant…

"Luan is _next!_ " She yelped.

" _What?_ " Luna turned around in her seat.

"S-s-she was the one who _died_ after Leni in my _vision!"_ Lucy explained. "I _remember_ who died _and_ in what _order_." Then, it struck her. "Maybe… maybe, if I remember who _died..._ then we can see the _design_. And if we see the _design,_ we can _interfere._ We can defeat the _design!_

Lori rolled her eyes. "Lucy, are you, _literally,_ going to listen to that nut? I mean, _sure,_ it's _crazy_ how Dad and Leni died _after_ the crash, but it was just a _coincidence._ "

"No…" Lincoln shook his head. "A _coincidence_ would be if just _one of them_ died after the crash. But _both of them?_ It sounds _too weird._ "

"So, you _really_ think we can _do this?_ " Lynn asked her roommate.

"Oh, my _God!_ " Luna realized. "What about _Lily?!_ She's just a _baby!_ She doesn't _deserve-_ "

"No, no, _no,_ Luna, _calm down_." Lucy soothed. "Lily wasn't _on_ the train. And my vision didn't show her _or_ mom being killed. So we just need to worry about-"

"Oh, would you all _get a grip?!_ " Lori fumed. But the oldest Loud calmed down, quickly, knowing that her anger wouldn't defuse the situation. " _Look_ … _we_ control our lives. Not some _list_ that death has _put together_ , okay? We're all gonna be _fine_."

But just after Lori finished, she slammed on the brakes. An ambulance and a police car was parked outside the house. The five siblings hurried out of the van and rushed into the house. Much to their terror, they saw a girl with a brunette ponytail being carried out on a stretcher.

Luna fell to her knees, sobbing at the sight of her little sister's motionless body. Rita was cradling Lily in her arms while Lisa, Lola, and Lana tried their best to comfort her. It was true that the aspiring comedian often got on their nerves, but they still loved her. Lincoln, Lynn, and Lucy hugged Luna tight, while Lori propped herself up on the side of Vanzilla.

"N-no… _no!_ " The oldest Loud rushed into the house, with Lincoln and Lynn in hot pursuit. When they found her, Lori had opened the safe in their parents' bedroom, and was now holding a fully loaded pistol. " _I_ control my life!" She screamed, shakily.

"Lori, _stop!_ " Lincoln tried to reason with her, unsure of what she was about to do.

"Yeah! _Yeah,_ just _relax!_ " Lynn added.

Lori held the barrel of the gun against her head. "If I'm gonna _die,_ it's on _my terms!_ "

"Lori, _no-!_ " Lincoln and Lynn flinched at the sound of the hammer snapping, but nothing else. The gun didn't fire. Lori tried again, but it still wouldn't shoot. The tormented college student slumped to the ground, crying as she kept pulling the trigger.

Lynn took the gun out of her hand and inspected the load. " _Six duds_ in a _row?_ " She asked no one in particular. "How is that _possible?_ "

"It's not _her turn,_ yet…" Lincoln and Lynn jumped. Despite how shaken up she was, Lucy still clung to her habit of popping out of nowhere and scaring people.

* * *

A week had passed. Lori had to go back to college after Luan's funeral, leaving Lucy, Lincoln, Lynn, and Luna to warn the other sisters of their impending doom. The group held their meeting in Lucy and Lynn's room to discuss their gameplan. "Okay, Luce…" Luna started. "Who's _next?_ "

" _Lisa_." Lucy answered. "In the vision, she died _right before_ Lana and Lola."

"Okay, and then which one of _them_ died?"

Lucy thought for a moment. "I… I don't _know_."

"What do you _mean_ you don't know?" Lynn crossed her arms.

"I-I don't _know!_ " Lucy grabbed the sides of her head, trying to concentrate. "They were _side-by-side!_ They got _crushed_ at the _same time!_ "

"Lucy!" Lincoln hugged her. "Lucy, just _calm down_ …" Lucy's breathing steadied as she listened to the relaxing rhythm of her older brother's heartbeat. "Now, _think._ One of them had to die _first_. Even if it was just _one second_ before the other."

"Okay, dudes, why don't we worry about that _later?_ " Luna suggested. "Lucy just said Lisa was next, so let's focus on _her_."

With that said, the siblings got up from their seats and moved down the hall. But when they got to the little scientist's room. But when they got there, all they found was a two-year-old girl, peacefully resting in her crib. Lisa wasn't dutifully scribbling in her notebook, or sketching complex equations on her chalkboard, she was gone.

"Kids?" Rita's broken voice came from the hall. The Loud kids didn't like seeing their mother like this. Losing her husband and two of her children had taken serious toll on her. But she was trying to stay strong for the family she remaining family she had. "Is there something _wrong?_ "

"Uh, mom?" Lincoln asked, nervously. "Where's Lisa?"

"She's giving her lecture at the _university,_ why?"

"What about _Lana_ and _Lola?_ " Lynn added.

"Lola's at a _pageant_ and Lana's at the _park_. They said it was helping them _cope_." Rita saw the concerned looks on their faces. "Kids, are you _alright?_ "

"Mom, we need the keys to Vanzilla." Luna led her siblings out of the room and down to the garage.

Meanwhile, Lisa had taken her place at the front of the class in the chemistry lab. Despite the recent events that currently plagued her and her family, she still needed to fulfill her contract with the Royal Woods University to pay for her scientific equipment. And it always comforted her to know that she could teach a room full of young adults at age five.

But while she introduced herself, one student who arrived a little late accidentally bumped the table with the chemicals on it. A drop of hydrochloric acid spilled onto the table, causing it to burn a hole in the wooden surface. The hole grew larger, causing other jars of chemicals to tip over. The mixture created a small flame that quickly spread.

One of the students, that was dozing in the back, woke up to the smell of smoke and looked around. When he saw the fire, he panicked. In no time at all, the room burst out into a horrific frenzy. Lisa tried to keep everyone calm and direct them out the door, but they were too hysterical to listen to reason.

Vanzilla screeched into the university's parking lot and the quartet of Louds scrambled out. "Which building is she in?!" Luna asked.

"She's in _Building C!_ " Lincoln pointed to the far-west building.

"No, she's _not!_ She's in _Building F!_ " Lynn pointed in the other direction.

"That was _last year_ , you _chowderhead!_ "

"How the _hell_ would _you_ know, _asshat?!_ "

" _HEY!_ " Lucy stamped her foot on the ground. "Maybe she's in the building that has the _fire alarm going off?!_ "

Lisa was trying to make it through the doorway, but the crowd of students was blocking her path. Thinking quickly, she made her way to the room's window, but the latch was stuck and wouldn't go up. Worse still, the flames were getting dangerously close to the fuel tanks for the bunsen burners. Any minute, there could be an explosion.

"LISA!" The five-year-old peered through the window and saw Luna rushing to the window from the outside. The rocker girl banged her fists on the glass, trying to break it. Lincoln and Lynn joined in, but their efforts were in vain.

Lucy looked around until she saw a gardener helping other students evacuate from the neighboring building. She rushed over to him, grabbed the tool in his hands, and rushed back to the window.

"Stand back!" She ordered. Her siblings all moved away just as the shovel's head shattered the glass.

Luna reached inside and lifted her little sister out of the burning building. The group managed to get three yards away before the lab exploded. Lisa hugged Luna tight, burying her face into her chest as she sobbed in fear. Lincoln, Lynn, and Lucy soon joined in the hug, assuring her that she was safe.

One down, two to go.

After quickly dropping Lisa back off at home, Luna was driving the group down the road once again. "Okay, Luce. _Now_ what?"

"Uh…" Lucy pounded her fists against her head, trying to get an idea of which twin was first. As she thought, she saw Lincoln's bike and an idea came to her mind. "Okay! Luna, you take Lincoln to go help Lana! Lynn, you and I will get Lola!"

They didn't waste any time. Luna stopped the van long enough for Lynn and Lucy to get out with the bike. As soon as they were clear, the rubber of the tires burned from the friction against the road as Vanzilla zoomed away. Lucy balanced herself on the handlebars, and Lynn peddled as fast as she could to Lola's pageant.

At the same time, Lana was playing down by the creek next to the park, while Lola was putting on blush for her performance. Both twins were having a lot of fun, being with their friends to help them cope with their recent losses. But what neither of them were aware of was the dangers that appeared.

The rope swing that Lana and her friends were using was starting to come apart. One swing too hard and it could either break while one was over the water, or the rocks. Additionally, one of the spotlights over the pageant's stage hadn't been installed properly, and the loud music was beginning to shake it loose.

* * *

Lori had spent the last few days back at college in fear. She spent almost every second of the day looking over her shoulder, worried of what could happen. She never sat too close to a window in class, she always made sure to be the last one out of the room, and she bolted her dorm room shut every night. But she couldn't keep it up; her teachers and friends were getting suspicious of her odd behavior, and would soon start to ask questions.

Then, she remembered what the coroner had said about taking a life. If she killed someone else, the remainder of their lifespan would become hers. _"But that would, literally, be murder…"_ She thought to herself.

Just then, her phone vibrated on her desk, startling her. She tapped on the screen, and groaned; it was from Carol Pingrey. _"Hey, loser. Don't forget cheerleading tryouts 2 nite. Not that you'll make it! LOL."_ As Lori asked herself, for the hundredth time, how she got her number, an idea popped into her mind.

She would take someone else's life, without it seeming like her fault.

 **Author's note: Okay, folks, I need another opinion. We've already covered that after** _ **Final Destination**_ **the next Loud Horror will be** _ **Saw.**_ **After** _ **Saw**_ **, I will have one more Horror story before my next** _ **Loud House**_ **fan fiction. Should it be: A)** _ **Get Out**_ **starring Luna or B)** _ **Child's Play**_ **starring Lana? Let me know what you prefer in the reviews!**


	13. Loud Destination Part 4

As Lori carefully made her way out of her dorm room, she spotted Carol Pingrey with the cheerleading squad. Anyone who was walking by would have only been paying attention to the college girls in skimpy uniforms flailing pom-poms above their heads. But what Lori was looking at was the construction crew right next to the football field. A group of workers were installing new support beams for the scoreboard, a dump truck was parked a few feet away, and the driver was preoccupied with the manager.

Thinking her plan through, Lori made her way down to the field. "Hey, Carol!" She called. The blonde girl glanced over her shoulder to see her rival beckoning her. She confidently strode over to where Lori was standing, oblivious to the construction work. "So, uh, I got your text about the _tryouts_ and I, uh-"

" _Stop_." Carol held up her hand, indignantly. "Look, Lori, cheerleading is an _art_. It has to be _calculated. Flawless._ We can't have _wannabes_ who spent _two days_ on the team in high school-"

But Lori wasn't paying attention to Carol. Her eyes wandered over to the dump truck that was starting to roll forward. "Carol, we need to move." She warned, trying to sound convincing to anyone nearby.

"No, you're gonna _listen_ to what I'm saying." Suddenly, the truck bumped the scaffolding that was holding up the workers. They held on for dear life, but pieces of rebar were starting to roll off of the platform.

"Carol, _move!_ " Lori pushed Carol towards the falling debris and dove in the opposite direction. Three pieces of rebar had pierced through Carol's chest, killing her, instantly. Lori had now taken Carol's place in Life.

* * *

One hour earlier, Lana was enjoying herself, enormously. While she would have prefered to play in the mud, every time she landed in the cold water from the creak she shrieked from excitement. It almost felt that if she swam enough, she could wash away the horror of losing so many of her family so early in her life.

As she waded back to the shore, the next kid on the swing rope tugged on it too hard and it started to come undone. The tomboy scaled the pointy rocks and got in line for the swing, unaware of the present danger.

Luna swerved Vanzilla into the parking lot. Ignoring the pedestrians yelling at her she and Lincoln jumped out to find their little sister. They checked her usual mud hole, but it was laid bare. Next, they checked the playground, but there was no sign of their favorite greasemonkey. At last, they remembered the creak.

It was finally Lana's turn on the rope swing, again. She gripped the rope, tight, and calculated that three swings would be enough to clear the rocks and make a huge splash. The first swing, the two yarns in the rope snapped. The second swing, one yarn was left. Halfway through the third swing, all time appeared to slow down as the rope slipped through her fingers.

But before she could hit the rocks, Luna and Lincoln tackled her in mid-air. The sudden push gave her enough momentum to get to the water. She coughed and spluttered as her older siblings carried her to safety, hugging her as they cried.

At the same time, Lucy held onto the handlebars of Lynn's bike as they rocketed down the sidewalk to get to Lola's pageant. The sporty girl and the goth girl almost flew off the bike when Lynn applied the breaks. They tried to get in through the front door, but it was locked from the inside to prevent interruptions.

While Lynn was busy panicking, Lucy ran around to the back. There was an open window to the basement, but it was a tight squeeze. She managed to get through, but the fall hurt her leg. Nevertheless, she limped up the basement stairs to save her sister. Unfortunately, Death was not making it easy for her; the door was locked.

Lola confidently strode down the catwalk and waved to the judges. Against her better judgement, she felt that winning a pageant and earning a new tiara would lift her spirits. As she made her way back to the curtain, she rolled her eyes at Lindsay Sweetwater's corny speech. But while everyone was focused on the contestants, no one noticed the impending doom.

A light fixture was starting to come loose from its support beam. The loud music was shaking the beam so much, the bolt came off of the strut and the fixture fell down, tangling itself in the electric cables that fed power to the other lights and speakers. The cables snapped and fell down to the stage.

Everyone screamed in fear. The cords were swinging and whipping all over the place, risking someone being killed by the electricity. Lola tried to run, but the other kids knocked her down to the floor, and she twisted her ankle. One of the girls accidentally knocked over the water cooler, sending a steady stream trickling towards Lola.

Back down in the basement, Lucy grabbed the heaviest thing she could find and rammed it against the door. When she finally made a hole, she reached her arm through and unlocked the door. She hurried through the hallway and into the auditorium. The little goth was horrified to see her younger sister being threatened by water and electricity.

Thinking quickly, she grabbed a towel from the beauty room, ran to the water, and blocked it from reaching the pageant queen. She covered Lola with her body, bracing herself for the pain. But the cables stopped swinging around and depowered.

"Lucy! Lola!" Lynn rushed towards the two and hugged them, tightly. "Are you _okay?!_ "

"Th-th-th-the _cables!_ " Lola stuttered from fear. "They just _came down!_ "

"Lynn, what did you do?" Lucy brushed her bangs aside.

"After everyone got out of my way, trying to get out, I managed to see what was happening through the door." Lynn explained. "I ran down to the generator room and shut off the power leading to the auditorium."

"I never thought that these words would slip through my lips, but, Lynn, you're _brilliant!_ " Lola praised, tearfully.

Once she was able to pry the little girl off of her, Lynn took out her cell phone and dialed Lincoln. Thankfully, he and Luna saved Lana in time. Luna drove everyone back home and they all enjoyed a relatively peaceful dinner. Their mom appeared to be slowly recovering from the aftermath, much to Lucy's relief.

But now that the younger sisters were all safe, it was only a matter of time before Death caught up to them.

* * *

That night, before bedtime, Lucy, Lincoln, Lynn, and Luna held a meeting in the poet's room. Following Lucy's instruction, Luna called Lori to warn her that she was next on Death's list. Everyone held their breath as the rocker paced around the room, waiting for Lori to pick up. Hopefully, they weren't too late.

"Yes!" Luna exclaimed, and the others exhaled. "Lori, _listen! You're next!_ Lucy says-wait, _what? Seriously?_ Uh _.._. _okay_ , then. Goodnight."

"What happened? Is she alright?" Lincoln asked as Luna hung up the phone.

"Yeah, she's fine." Luna sounded curious. "She said she almost got hit by a _truck_ today, but somebody pushed her out of the way."

"Then Death _skipped_ her, and now…" Lucy tried to concentrate, thinking back to her vision. "... Luna… _you're_ next…"

The aspiring musician gulped. " _Help, I Need Somebody,_ dudes…" She whimpered.

"Okay, Luna, do you have any _plans_ tomorrow?" Lucy held her hands.

"I-I was gonna go play at _Bangers and Mosh_ after school." She replied.

"Okay, then we're going _with you_ to keep you _safe!_ " Lynn tapped her fist against her sister's arm.

" _Bloody Well Right,_ luv." Luna smiled, weakly.

"Kids! Time for _bed!_ " Rita's voice came from downstairs. As usual, everyone obeyed her without argument. After everyone else had left, Luna looked around her room, nervously. She checked to make sure that the window and door could easily open, secured her instruments so that they couldn't fall over, and unplugged everything electronic to prevent a short-circuit.

Then, taking the blanket and pillow off of her bed, she positioned herself at a safe distance from the empty bunk bed and out from under the ceiling lamp. After ensuring that nothing else could hurt her, she set her alarm clock and, reluctantly, closed her eyes. "You ain't gettin' _me_ , you freaky bastard!" She whispered to herself.

The next day, Luna and her siblings went to Bangers and Mosh as planned. Luna's faithful stagehand, Chunk, was dutifully working on her equipment. "Hey, mate, make sure you don't overload the mixboard…" She advised, sheepishly. "Oh, and watch out for _loose cords_."

"Relax, Luna." Chunk soothed. "I practically _grew up_ in a recording studio."

Luna knew she could rely on him, but she still felt a little on edge. Scanning the crowd, Luna smiled as she saw her family giving her thumbs up. At last, she moved towards the mic. "Okay… an, uh, any _requests?_ "

" _Highway to Hell!_ " Someone shouted out.

"Any _other_ requests?" Luna started to sweat.

" _Welcome to the Jungle!_ " Lincoln asked, thinking it would make her feel more comfortable.

"Okay, _Welcome to the Jungle_ …" Luna tuned her guitar and started playing.

For the most part, everyone enjoyed her performance, but Lucy was looking around the restaurant for any potential hazards. Just then, she remembered that a cable had sliced off Luna's jaw in her vision, and turned to the power chords. One of the waiters was taking up a pitcher of water for when Luna needed a break.

Much to Lucy's horror, on his way down, he tripped over one of the speaker's power cord and tumbled down the steps with it wrapped around his leg. With a hard tug, it came loose and flew around the stage just as Luna was finishing up.

" _You know where you_ are? _You're in the_ JUNGLE, _baby! You're gonna-!"_

"DUCK!" Lucy yelled over the speakers. Luna shifted in her position just as the cord hit her. Everyone gasped and stood up in shock.

"LUNA!" The Loud kids cried.

But then, Luna sat up on the stage, frightened, but otherwise unharmed. She looked down at what the cord had hit. Her beloved electric guitar had a giant gash on the body, and the strings had all been snapped. Luna lightly brushed her fingers over the cut that could have been inflicted on her flesh, instead.

"Better _you_ than _me_ , Chloe…" She breathed. The rock star felt much safer once her family huddled around her, hugging her for what felt like hours.

But as she hugged, Lucy couldn't help but plan ahead. _"That just leaves Lynn, Lincoln… and then_ me… _"_

* * *

 **Author's note: Okay! So far we have three votes for** _ **Child's Play**_ **and two votes for** _ **Get Out**_ **. But, we have one last chapter of** _ **Final Destinat**_ **so keep those votes a-comin'!**

 **Also, *Luna's music references were** _ **Help**_ **by the Beatles and** _ **Bloody Well Right**_ **by Supertramp.**


	14. Loud Destination Part 5

Lucy, Lincoln, and Luna sat in the bleachers with the rest of their family as they watched Lynn's football game. The family's athlete felt a tinge of fear in her gut. The reason she was allowed on an all-boys team was because last year, Lincoln asked her to fill in for him so that he wouldn't have to play. But the plan backfired when Lynn ended up becoming a local all-star on the team, and Lincoln was exposed. But on the bright side, the coach was so impressed with her performance, he offered her an official spot on the team.

Lynn never felt nervous when facing off against boys who were twice her size before, but right now, she was petrified. One wrong move and her neck could be broken, or her skull could be fractured, or her spine could break. It made her feel like a coward.

The referee's whistle snapped Lynn out of her trance and she focused her attention back on the game. The kickoff went smoothly, and her team managed to get to the thirty yard line. Everything seemed to be fine. Glancing over at the bleachers, she saw Lucy, Lincoln, and Luna surveying the field for any potential hazards.

But the third quarter rolled around with no troubles yet, much to their relief. The Roosters were even ahead of the away team by seventeen points. But just as the whistle blew again, Lincoln saw something that made him nervous. He directed Lucy and Luna's attention to the truck hitch carrying a load of fireworks. The trio shared a nervous glance before slipping away from their family.

The truck driver parked his truck behind the scoreboard, set up the controls in front of the vehicle, and got out to enjoy the game. But the truck was very old, and didn't work the way it used to. When he slammed the door shut, the parking brake came loose and it started to move forward. The hitch's wheel accidentally ran into a gopher hole that made it tip over on the side. The truck broke away from its cargo and ran over the controls.

The fireworks shot out from their cannons past the scoreboard and onto the field. The game came to a screeching halt and everyone started to panic. Lynn tripped on the field and one of the other players stepped on her leg. She couldn't get up, and she couldn't run away.

A shower of sparks surrounded her as the fireworks kept coming. In that moment, she felt completely helpless. She closed her eyes, waiting for the inevitable, only to open them again as she felt someone pull her out of the way.

Lincoln had pulled her to safety just in time, saving her life. But one final firework hit the back of the scoreboard, tearing it to shreds. Power cables whipped around the field, trapping the boy where he stood. "Help!" He cried.

"Lincoln!" Lucy ran over to the cables, but stopped when she saw how dangerous they looked. She wanted to help her brother, but she didn't know how. She was too far away from the powerhouse, and she couldn't find anything to grab the cables.

But then, she got an idea. If she was the next to die after Lincoln, then perhaps she could interfere with the design by trying to take his place. Steeling her nerves, the little girl got closer to her brother.

"Lucy! Get away!" Lincoln warned.

"Lucy! Lincoln!" The other Louds rushed towards the field once they saw the duo.

"It'll be _okay_ , Lincoln! _Trust me!_ " Lucy called. The little poet bravely took one more step and grabbed a power cable with her bare hands. The electricity surged, painfully, through her body until the power finally went out. Rita rushed over to check on her while Luna called an ambulance.

* * *

The next weekend, Lucy wa hobbling on her crutch through the busy bus station. She and her family decided to visit Lori at her college for Thanksgiving break, rather than taking the train. Lincoln and Lynn kept offering to help her get aboard, despite her insistence that she was fine. Everyone piled onto the bus, placing their suitcases in the cubbies.

After all the chaos from the previous few days, they were all looking forward to a peaceful weekned.

"Hey, Lincoln!"

The white-haired boy turned to see one of his best friends. "Oh, _hey_ , Liam."

"I saw what you did at the football game! That was _pretty cool!_ Reckon yer girlfriend'll be _real grateful_ after savin' her life." The country boy nudged his friend with his elbow while winking.

"Lynn's my _sister_." Lincoln corrected with an arched eyebrow.

"Yeah, I _know_." Liam shrugged.

Lincoln gagged. "You're _sick_ , dude. See a _therapist_." *****

Lucy chuckled at Lincoln's reaction. That was ten dollars well spent. She took her seat on the bus right next to Lynn and looked back at her family. It hadn't been easy, but she and her loved ones had successfully cheated Death's design, and now had their whole lives ahead of them.

When the bus started moving, Lucy sighed as she leaned back against the seat. She reached into her backpack and grabbed her poetry book. But just as she turned the pages, she received a papercut that was very familiar. Luna cheered as _Crazy Train_ sounded over the bus' radio. The little girl looked out the window to see that the bus' speed was increasing.

"No… _no!_ " Lucy cried.

The bus driver was suffering a stroke, and fell asleep at the wheel. The bus continued to accelerate as it crashed into the other cars. As it kept going, the engine started to overheat, and flames started to blow through the air vents. Rita and Lily were the first to be killed, followed by Lisa, Lola, and Lana. Then, a brake cable snapped and slashed Luna across the face. Lynn flew through the windshield and was dragged under the wheels. And at last, Lincoln hit his head on the floor of the bus, killing him instantly.

"I don't want to _die!_ " Lucy cried.

 **(...)**

"Thank you for coming, Lori." Mrs. Pingry dabbed her eyes with a tissue as she gazed into her daughter's coffin. "It _really_ means a lot to us."

"Carol and I, literally, never saw _eye-to-eye_ , but _nobody_ deserved to die like that." Lori was trying to sound as genuine as possible. "I'm sure it was very heartbreaking."

"Well, truth-be-told, we were _prepared_ for this, eventually."

Lori's ears perked up. " _Prepared?_ What… what do you _mean?_ "

Mrs. Pingry paused for a moment before she responded. "She didn't want anyone to _pity her,_ but I guess it doesn't matter _now_. A few weeks ago, she was complaining about _headaches_ so we took her to the doctors. It turns out she had a _tumor_ in her head that would've killed her any _day_ now."

"...w- _what?_ "

Just then, a flaming bus burst through the wall. Lori didn't even have time to scream as she was run over. Hours later, after the fire had been put out, and the survivors taken to the hospital, the deceased were taken to the morgue. Once the paramedics left, the coroner strutted into the room with his tools.

Bludsworth slipped on his rubber gloves and pulled away the first sheet. His lips curled up at the sight of the pale nine-year-old with dyed hair. "I _told you_ I'd see you soon, Lucille…"

 **FLASHFAN123 Presents**

 **The Loud Destination**

 **Starring**

 **Lucy Loud**

 **Lincoln Loud**

 **Lynn Loud**

 **Luna Loud**

 **Lori Loud**

 **Leni Loud**

 **Luan Loud**

 **Lana Loud**

 **Lola Loud**

 **Lisa Loud**

 **Lily Loud**

 **Rita and Lynn Loud, Sr.**

 **Carol Pingrey**

 **And William Bludworth as the Coroner**

 **Author's note: Well, the votes are in, and the next chapter is** _ **Child's Play**_ **starring Lana Loud as the lead!**

 ***BTW, that was my way of giving Loudcest the middle finger.**


	15. Intermission

**Hey, guys! Just want to let those who like this story that it is** _ **NOT**_ **dead. Eventually, I plan to make more chapters for The Loud Horror, but right now, I'm focusing on Justice Legion of Avengers and Star Wars: Shattered Reality.**

 **To those of you who are followers and favorites, I sincerely apologize for getting your hopes up with this update. But don't worry! I have four more horror movies AND their main stars planned out! Hopefully, I can work on them at the beginning of the summer of this year.**

 **1.) _Child's_** _ **Play**_ **starring Lana Loud**

 **2.)** _ **Get Out**_ **starring Luna Loud**

 **3.)** _ **Nightmare on Elm Street**_ **starring Lori Loud**

 **4.)** _ **It**_ **starring all the Louds**

 **Please, let me know what you think in the reviews. If you have your OWN horror movie you'd like to see the Louds take on, please feel free to send me a private message and let me know.**

 **Thanks again for following this story, and I hope you stick with it long enough to see the new chapters!**


	16. Child's Play Part 1

It all started in a toy store.

In 1988 notorious Lakeshore Strangler, Charles Lee Ray, had thought to have been killed in a police shootout. After a freak accident involving a sudden lightning strike, Ray's body was recovered and taken into police custody. The Lakeshore Strangler's reign terror was thought to be over.

But what the police didn't know at the time, was that Ray had studied the ancient art of Voodoo. Using what he had learned, he transferred his soul into a beloved _Good Guy Doll._ Then, slipping under police radar, he remained under the guise of an inanimate doll, falling under the ownership of the young Andy Barclay.

While he inhabited the doll, Ray took his revenge against the people he deemed responsible for his death. During this time, he discovered a fatal flaw to the spell: the longer he spent in the body, the more human it became. He tracked down the man who taught him the art of voodoo, Dr. John Bishop, and forced him to explain how to reverse the curse. The only way for him to escape the doll, would be to transfer his soul into the first human being he revealed his true self to.

Which was Andy Barclay.

Luckily, for the boy, his mother had discovered Ray's scheme and convinced an officer of the CPD, Mike Norris, to help her. They arrived just in time to save Andy and kill Ray, ending the threat once and for all.

But Charles Lee Ray managed to cheat death once again, thanks to to ritual. Now, after thirty years, he has risen again in the form of another _Good Guy Doll._ And he will not rest until he is human again.

* * *

 **Present Day**

It was an average Thursday in Royal Woods as far as Lana Loud was concerned. The six-year-old handywoman happily strolled down the street from her Elementary school towards the neighborhood she loved more than her own. As she climbed the fence with her backpack over her shoulder, she stuck a perfect landing and rushed towards the house of her mechanical mentor.

Almost one year ago, a kindly new neighbor had moved in to Royal Woods, prompting the Loud family to go introduce themselves. Of all the Loud children, Lana bonded to this new neighbor the most. She admired him for his mechanical prowess, especially after seeing his collection of "Do-It-Yourself" magazines and his own custom-built Cadillac. So impressed, was she, that once they got home, Lana begged her parents to go visit him again sometime.

After a few more weeks of consulting him, Rita finally agreed to let her daughter visit him for one hour a day after school to study mechanics. This pleased the aspiring grease monkey, greatly. She thought she knew about automobiles before, but this man had opened her up to a whole new world of the auto-repair trade. And now, she was happily marching towards his home again, by pure instinct.

Meanwhile, the neighbor she was looking forward to meeting was currently busy packaging all of his belongings into plastic totes. His bed was now taken apart, with the mattress leaning against the wall. In one hand was a collection of final bills, and in the other, a picture of him and his mother when he was younger. He was just staring at it, thinking back to simpler times, when something started to vibrate in his pocket.

"Hello?" He answered his phone. "Oh, hey, mom. How are you? Good. How's _Mike?_ Yeah…? Of _course,_ I'm coming over for my birthday next week… _no,_ mom, _no,_ don't get me anything. Do me a _favor;_ no _surprises_ this year? Okay... yes, I finished packing. Okay… see you soon. Love you. Bye."

Just as he hung up the phone, his doorbell echoed throughout the now empty house.

"Hi, Mr. Barclay!" Lana beamed.

"On time, as usual, Lana." Andy chuckled, ruffling her hair affectionately.

"So, what're we gonna work on today?" She asked, eagerly. "One of those vin… vint-uh… _vincent_ thingies?"

 _"Vintage."_ Andy corrected. "And, actually Lana, there's something I've been meaning to tell you…" The middle-aged man looked down, sadly.

Lana's expression suddenly changed. The tomboy looked behind her friend, gazing at the empty room where his furniture used to be, and the totes that now took its place. "You… you're _moving?"_ When he didn't answer she walked around him to inspect more of the house. The walls were bare, the floor had been freshly mopped, and the countertop was littered with different kinds of bills and letters. "You _are!_ Why?!"

Andy knelt down and hugged his little friend, tightly. Leading her over to the base of the staircase, he asked her to sit down as he explained everything. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner, Lana."

"Why are you _leaving?"_ She wiped her eyes.

Andy sighed. "When I was around your age, my babysitter was _murdered."_ Lana gasped. "The murderer got away, but he kept _following me._ Wherever I _went._ He killed people around me, and left _me_ to take the blame _._ "

"Nobody _helped_ you?"

"No… not right _away."_ He explained. "For a little while, people thought that _I_ committed the murders and sent me to a correctional facility. My mother was the first person who found out I was telling the truth. And eventually she convinced a police officer."

Lana could hardly believe her ears. She was old enough to understand what murder was, but she always thought it happened to strangers. Not her friends. She didn't know what this story had to do with Mr. Barclay moving, but she was willing to let him explain. "At last, he _caught me."_

"Did… did your mom and that policeman save you?" Andy nodded. "What happened to the killer?"

"Let's just say… justice was delivered." He rubbed his head, almost in pain as the memories flooded his mind. "But he's _still_ out there. He might still be looking for me… that's why I have to go. Murderers often develop… _attachments_ to the people they torment. I've been trying to make sure he never finds me."

Lana nodded in understanding. "I'm gonna _miss_ you…" She told him, sadly.

Andy rubbed her back, trying his best to comfort her. "I'm really gonna miss you, too, pal. But, I promise I'll come _back,_ someday. And, I'll give you my new address, and I'll be staying at a _hotel_ until the delivery van shows up. Okay?"

A soft smile returned to the girl's face. "Okay. We've had a lot of _fun_ together, though. Haven't we, Mr. Barclay?"

"We sure _have."_ He ruffled her hair with a chuckle. "Make sure to tell your parents they did a _good job_ in bringing you up."

Over the next few hours, the two friends kept talking about all the projects they had worked on together, ranging from carpentry to automobiles. Lana told him that her favorite project was fixing his vintage Cadillac. "What does _'vintage'_ mean, anyway?" She asked.

"It's…" Andy rubbed his chin, thinking of how best to explain it. "It means, uh… it means that it's from the original year it was first made. Sometimes, that makes it _really valuable._ Especially if you fix it up."

Suddenly, Weird Al's _"Hardware Store"_ came from Lana's pocket. She pulled out her phone and pressed the green button. "Hello…? Oh, yeah, I'm fine, mom. I'm here with Mr. Barclay. Okay, I'll come home. Bye." She hung up and looked back at her mentor. "I gotta go."

"Okay. Tell your folks I said hi." But just as her hand landed on the doorknob, he called out to her again. "Hey, can you do me a favor? I might still get some mail after I've left. Would you mind coming around to check on it and forward it to my new address?"

"Anything for _you,_ Mr. Barclay." Lana smiled, sadly. "Bye, Mr. Barclay."

Andy hated seeing the sorrowful look on her face. "Bye, Lana."

* * *

The next day, Lana wouldn't stop sulking. Everyone else in her class was ecstatic that the weekend was finally upon them, but Lana couldn't stop thinking about Mr. Barclay moving away. Her teachers took notice of her change in behavior; she wouldn't play in the mud at recess, she had forgotten to feed the class hamster, and she didn't even fight with her twin sister. Given that they were grateful for this change in attitude, they didn't want to question it.

As the last bell rang, Lana lazily slumped out of her seat and walked out the front doors. She could have taken the bus with her brother and sisters, but at that moment she needed some time alone. What was only a few minutes felt like hours before she finally came upon her mentor's empty house. But as she looked up at the door, something caught her eye.

She gradually climbed the steps until she found a large cardboard box at the front door. Suddenly, she remembered her promise. She grabbed the box at rushed home as quickly as she could. By the time she saw the toy-scattered lawn, she could hear the usual chaos her family was most famous for. Instead of going inside, she made a beeline for the garage.

She set the box on the ground and gently peeled the tape off. Inside was another, more colorful box, covered with pictures of a red-haired boy in a striped shirt and overalls. Her eyes widened in wonder as she read the bright, red label. "'Good Guy. He wants _you_ for a best friend…'" Lana looked down at the bottom of the box; the date read 1988. She snapped her fingers as the realization struck her. "Oh, I know! It must be one of those _vintage_ things!"

Then, a wonderful idea popped into her mind. If she could restore the doll, herself, Mr. Barclay might be so impressed that he'd see how much he had taught her. The he would change his mind about moving! Unfortunately, she got a little over-zealous in opening the rest of the box, and her carpenter's knife dug too deep into the packaging. After taking a few breaths to calm down, she carefully opened the rest of the box and found the cut.

As she continued to inspect it for anymore damage, she found another label that displayed the three sentences the doll could say. "Hmm… 'Hi, I'm [blank], and I'm your friend 'til the end. Hi, I'm [blank], wanna play? Hi, I like to be hugged.' Sounds like something _Lola_ would like." She snickered.

 _"GRAAAAAAGH!"_

"Ah!" Lana stumbled backwards and fell on the floor. The box had torn open from the inside and something jumped out, startling the little handywoman. She rubbed her eyes to see if they were playing tricks on her. But it was real; the _Good Guy Doll_ was walking.

"Who the _fuck_ are you?!" The doll asked, angrily.

" _That's_ not one of the sentences on the box…" Lana cocked a curious eyebrow.

"I'm _new_ and _improved."_ The doll retorted.

Lana smiled and propped herself up. "I've never _met_ a toy like _you_ before."

"Alright, kid, fun's _over."_ The doll sneered. "Where the Hell is _Andy?"_

"Andy…?" Lana thought for a moment. "Wait, you mean _Mr. Barclay?_ What do you want _him_ for?"

The _Good Guy_ picked up the postage stamp and showed it to the tomboy. "Can't you _read?_ He was _supposed_ to get this package! Tampering with other people's mail is a _federal offence."_

"I'm sorry…" Lana frowned. "H-he moved just yesterday. He asked me to forward his mail, but I got curious. Is he your _best friend,_ or something?"

"He's _more_ than that." The plastic figure replied. "He's my _new_ lease on life." But just then, he looked down at his hand, noticing the cut. But something was different. "Hey… you _cut me."_

"I-I'm _sorry…"_ Lana stammered. "I can try to _fix it._ Does it _hurt?"_

"No, actually…" The doll replied, sounding rather surprised. "In fact… I didn't even _feel_ it." The doll rubbed its chin as it tried to understand why it wasn't bleeding. Thinking back to when he mailed himself to Andy, he remembered his spirit drifting from the charred husk of the first doll back into the toy factory where it was first made.

 _"Wait a minute…"_ It thought to itself. _"The curse must've been_ reset, _or something. So that means… I've got a_ brand new body… _and I ain't told nobody about my little secret yet."_

The doll looked back at the six-year-old, and smiled. "Uh, hey, I'm _real sorry_ I snapped at you like that." He helped her up, glad that she now mirrored his smile. "I was just _really_ looking forward to seeing Andy again after all these years. Forgive me?"

"Yeah, it's okay. I shouldn't have been messing with his mail."

"Great! So, uh, what's your _name,_ kid?"

"Lana. What's yours?"

"Well, my _friends_ call me _Chucky."_ Chucky's smile grew wider. "But, uh, my _real name_ is _Charles Lee Ray…"_

* * *

 **(...)**

 **FLASHFAN123 proudly presents**

 **(...)**

 **Child's Play**


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